ĹẸĞÃČЎ
by Blue1272000
Summary: Is the Tribe the only group of cats in the mountain? No, there is another group far north. These cats have no connection with their ancestors and have slipped into an immorality so deep, their ancestors fear they will never recover. But one cat has had enough of this life, she is tired of being discriminated and used. And she wants a legacy that she can be proud of.
1. Prologue

**Hello! This is my new story, it is rather different from my other stories, and will be a trilogy, but I hope all who read this enjoy it! **

**Prologue**

It is to be noted that the long mountain range houses more then just the Tripe of Rushing Water. Another group of cats live there, similar and different from the Tribe in various ways.

I shall start with the similarities, this other group of cats, for they have no name, and are usually called by whomever is their leader at the time, is divided into hunters and fighters, much like the Tribe's cave-guards and prey-hunters.

This group also lives in a cave behind a waterfall, though the waterfall is just a trickling stream and the entrance is mostly covered by ivy. Also, the cats of the Tribe and this group share ancestors. Unfortunately, the similarities end there.

You see, my name is Song, I once lived by the lake where the Clans now dwell. When the three groups of cats that lived there broke apart; one part becoming loners, rogues, and kittypets; one part staying and living loosely to the former cats way of life; and the last part followed me far away.

We entered the mountains far north of the Tribe's home, though the weather is much the same, if not a bit warmer, since our territory is mostly large, low, grassy valleys surrounded by tall mountains. We settled in an earth cave in the side of a mountain and devised different ways of hunting and fighting the mountain birds, for we rarely saw any other cat for generations.

To say the least, it was idealistic, every cat always well fed, well trained, and comfortable. It remained so beyond my passing for several generations. The one fatal flaw in our life was that we lost our belief in ancestors in the sky almost as soon as we left the lake.

This flaw led to our second flaw, we organized the leadership in two parts. There was one leader for the hunters, and one leader for the fighters. When I devised this, I hoped that the shared power would make it more difficult for tyranny to arise. But I was wrong.

The shared power led to bitter fights among the cats. This flaw led to a very grave mistake that haunts me still. You see, once, two leaders, both she-cats, fell in love with the same tom and hated each other. Blinded by their emotion, they led their cats against each other.

The fight was very fatal, only a handful of cats surviving. The two leaders had killed each other. That paved the way for two ambitious brothers, one a hunter, the other a fighter, to become the leaders. Both of the brothers had a strange way of looking down on she-cats after the fight. They thought she-cats were too emotional to think straight and passed a law that no she-cat could ever become leader.

Because of the fatal battle, there wasn't enough opposition to stop them, and most cats saw sense in the law. But that one rule, even though the brothers loved their she-cat friends, and just thought them incapable to put sense in front of emotion, led the way for harsher rules.

It continued with the leader of toms, some more shrewd, some more lenient, but all looking down on she-cats. Over countless generations, it came to a time when all she-cats were assigned to toms as kits through their father and their one sole duty was to make their mates happy and bear their kits.

She-cats weren't allowed to learn to hunt or fight, they weren't allowed to go out of the cave without their mates, they were only allowed to learn how to heal, and they weren't even allowed to be seen talking alone to a tom outside their family. The punishment against these rules stretched from a beating to death, depending on the broken rule and who broke it for whom.

Even though I myself am a she-cat, the founder of these cats who set them up and formed rock from clay, my gender was being degraded and the immorality just kept becoming more and more apparent.

I wish that I, or the other ancestors, could have done something to stop it. But because our descendants didn't believe in ancestors, we had no connection to them, and could only wait and hope that some cat could stop those horrendous crimes from becoming our family's one and only legacy.

**Legacy: Alliances **

_**Hunters**_

**Leader**: Hawk- Lithe brown tom with sharp blue eyes and off-white ears. **Mate**: Droplet- Elegant silver she-cat with soft gray eyes and a white stripe on her muzzle.

**Hunters:**

Scratch- Gray-brown tom with dull brown eyes. **Mate:** Shimmer- Black she-cat with white tipped tail, ears, and chest; blue eyes.

Hare- Pale brown tom with tufted ears and amber eyes. **Mate:** Twist- Amber and brown tortoiseshell she-cat with green eyes.

Spider- Long legged black tom with brown tabby stripes and yellow eyes. **Mate: Undecided**

Ice- Pale silver tom with white ears and pale blue eyes. **Mate:** Storm- Dark gray she-cat with orange eyes.

Nightly- Black tom with amber eyes. **Mate: Undecided**

Tuft- Gray tom with tufted ears, long fur, and tufted tail; green eyes. **Mate:** Grass- Pale gray she-cat with bright green eyes.

**Trainees. Cats ages 5-8 moons.**

Scamp- Black and red tom with unruly fur and bright amber eyes.** Mate: **Squirrel- Red she-cat with a fluffy tail and blazing green eyes.

**Kits: (cats under five moons)**

Tangle- Gray-brown tom with dull blue eyes and white tipped tail. (Scratch, Shimmer)

Mudslide- Dark brown tom with black paws and amber eyes. (Hare, Twist)

Whisper- Lithe silver she-cat with darker flecks and green eyes.(Hare, Twist)

_**Fighters **_

**Leader:** Crag- Large black tom with gray ears and brown eyes. **Mate:** Leaf- Golden and white dappled she-cat with soft fur and green eyes.

**Fighters:**

Fox- Lanky red tom with green eyes and ripped tail tip. **Mate: Deceased, no new one yet named.**

Boulder- Muscular, solid gray tom with amber eyes. **Mate:** Red- Mottled red, brown she-cat with white paws and blue eyes

Swallowtail- Brown and red tom with a gray tail and gray eyes. **Mate:** Swirl- Black and gray mottled she-cat with dark blue, almost black, eyes.

Pebble- Mottled gray-brown tom with green eyes. **Mate: Undecided**

Snake- Black tom with brown speckles and dark brown eyes. **Mate: **Crisp- Orange-brown she-cat with amber eyes.

**Trainees**. **Cats ages 5-8 moons.**

Trip- White and brown tom with large, clumsy paws and blue eyes.** Mate: **Cinder- Fluffy gray she-cat with green eyes

Sleet- Muscular, white tom with yellow eyes.** Mate: Undecided**

**Kits. (cats less then five moons)**

Cliff- Gray tom with brown paws and blue eyes(Swallowtail, Swirl)

Tinge- White she-cat with gray tinged tips and yellow eyes(Swallowtail, Swirl)

Night- Large black tom with brown ears and paws; amber eyes(Crag, Leaf)

**...**

**Apologies for any spelling or grammatical errors, feel free to point them out and I'll make sure to remember next time!**

**I will state that I'm not actually a sexist and do not believe that there is much sexism in any western country, but it does make a good story, so I thought I'd try it.  
><strong>

**Also, I have rules for when you review, please refrain from curses or swears. Please don't tell me what to change in my story, the plot-line will be written how I want it. Please, if you have nothing nice or constructive to say, keep it to yourself. **

**Finally, Please Review! whether if it is to ask questions, give support, or be constructive, I appreciate it! **


	2. Chapter 1: Two Kits And A Dream

**Hey! so here's the first real chapter! **

**REVIEWS**

**"Warriors Fan12"- Thanks! glad you like it so far!**

**"tye dye tail"- Thank you!**

**"Leviathan48"- I know, I do want to finish Blue Shadows soon, and thanks!**

**"lucky333123"- Thanks!**

**Snowfeather4876"-Thanks! and that was a fluke, I doubt I'll make that mistake again! and not everyone is as nice as you :) just reminding everyone to keep it nice. **

**Chapter 1: Two Kits And A Dream**

Droplet looked down at her two new kits. Born just yesterday they still had their eyes closed, their ears were wrinkled, and they mewled quietly, the sound muffled by her belly fur. She lay in a soft nest of grass and moss on the dirt floor of the kit-den.

Golden light filtered in and dappled her silver pelt with its soft glow. The light came from a patchy hole in the side of the ceiling that was mostly blocked by a light curtain of lichen and the light wasn't strong enough to light up the corners of the den, but let enough light in to see.

She glanced across the den, Shimmer, an older black she-cat with white tipped tail, ears, and chest, was curled around her one kit, Tangle. It was the she-cat's second litter and although all but one kit had died from her first litter, it seemed that the she-cat didn't mind not having more then one kit.

Droplet could understand. Every she-cat hated to have kits in this life. Although toms had a good enough life, she-cats were haunted with every step. She supposed she was one of the lucky she-cats, her mate, Hawk, was fair to her and had never scratched her unless she accidentally slipped up in front of other toms.

And with him being the leader of the hunters, no tom dared flirt with her in his sight, for he wasn't fond of letting any other tom near her. She looked down at her two kits, would her she-kit be fortunate like her?

She sighed and closed her soft gray eyes, but she couldn't sleep. She could still hear Hawk outside the den, bragging about his new kits to all the other toms like a go-lucky fool. Not that she could say even the slightest reprimand.

Her ears flicked as she heard Twist enter the den. The she-cat's steps were dragging and heavy and Droplet caught the sharp, salty tang of blood. She could hear Mudslide taunting his sister, Whisper, but the little she-kit made no sound of protest.

Droplet opened her eyes into slits. She could see Mudslide scratching his sister's ears. Twist looked like she wanted to protest, but she knew as well as Droplet that Mudslide would screech for his father, Hare, and that Hare would beat both Twist and Whisper, harsher then what the tom kit was doing to his sister.

Twist sat in her nest and Whisper ducked behind her, hiding from her brother, her silver ears stained red with blood, hiding the scars of the other scratches she'd received from Mudslide or any other tom who cared to do her harm.

Droplet swallowed hard, would her tom kit be like that? She hoped he'd be more like his father and be fair to his mate. _Speaking of mates, has Hawk decided who our kit's mates will be?_ Her son would, of course, be able to change his mate pick when he became a trainee if he wanted, but her daughter would be stuck with whoever chose her.

She studied her kits again, her worries swept away in an emotion of love. Mudslide had fallen quiet as he suckled, kicking Whisper back until he was full. The kits fell asleep as the soft orange light turned to silvery-blue.

Droplet was again overcome with a desire to go outside and see the night sky, just like every night. But it was forbidden to leave the cave after dusk, whether if it was to stop cats from falling down the steep-sloped loose rock and dirt, or to stop escapees, she didn't know, but she'd never seen the sky at night.

She looked at the hole, trying to see past the lichen, but all she could see was black and a dot of white. _What's out there?_ She stiffened her curiosity, it was dangerous for a she-cat to have curiosity, it might make her do something that would harm her.

She looked back at her kits, studying once again the pattern of their pelts. Her tom was patched black and white, his face white with black ears and his back was black as well as half his sides and his back left leg while the rest was white, except his black tipped tail.

Her she-kit had a more simple pelt, a solid dark gray color tinted blue, Hawk said she was the color of storm clouds on a warm afternoon. The kind that would drop heavy rains and blow it into the entrance, bringing a taste of wildness with it.

Droplet drew her white striped muzzle over her she-kit, the gentle curve that was a symbol of a she-cat was smooth. Her fur was soft and a sweet scent promised a very popular she-cat among the toms. Droplet had mixed feelings toward that, it might mean her kit was more well cared for, but it might make her too temping for the lowly toms with no moral.

She jerked her head up in surprise as she heard quick paw-steps at the entrance of the den. The scent of tom wafted to her and she curled around her kits more tightly as she watched in apprehension for who would emerge.

She relaxed and gave a soundless sigh of relief when she saw her mate, Hawk. She nuzzled him in the usual greeting of a she-cat to her mate. Hawk gave her a small purr, his blue eyes were still bright with pride and exhilaration.

She wanted to ask what names he chose, but she couldn't say anything unless he gave her permission. "I can't believe how perfect they are! A beautiful she-cat and a brave tom! I can see them now, the tom will become leader after me and the she-kit will join the Fighters and Hunters again!" Hawk mewed happily, and his creamy-white ears twitched with excitement.

_ I'd forgotten about that. Every generation or so the she-kit of the leader of the Hunter of Fighter leader becomes mates with the other leader's son. And since Crag and Leaf don't have a daughter, my daughter will be mates with their son._

She wanted to growl, Crag's and Leaf's son, Night, was arrogant, impudent, and obnoxious, acting as if he was already a leader when he wasn't even a trainee yet. He also looked at she-cats like they were toys, constantly flirting with them even though he was only four moons old.

She pushed the negative thoughts away, there was nothing she could do, she just hoped her daughter could hold out while Night matured, hopefully.

She reminded herself that she wanted to know her kit's names. Hawk would have decided by now. She looked at him, he was watching her gently and lovingly, he only looked at her like when they were alone at night.

He must have seen she wanted to ask him something and he dipped his head, "What is it?" he asked, his voice just a soft whisper in her ear. Although she didn't truly love him like she might have been able to do with a tom of her choice, she did care for him and was grateful for his kindness and understanding.

"What are their names?" she asked softly, making her gaze wide and innocent, she knew he liked that.

Hawk purred more loudly. "The tom is Pepper, Fox was telling me about pepper yesterday, he said he heard about it from a passing rogue and that its black and makes a cat sneeze. I thought that was funny and I like the name," Hawk mewed, his blue eyes shining in amusement.

Droplet nodded and purred, she liked the name as well, even though she wouldn't have picked it. "And the she-kit?" she prompted softly.

Hawk gave her a less then amused look, but he didn't comment on her words that could be seen as demanding in the eyes of the toms who expected their mates to worship them. "The she-kit is Rainstone, kind of continuing after your name and for my father, Stone," Hawk mewed, looking a little embarrassed at the almost peculiar name he'd chosen.

Droplet purred, she loved the name that honored both their family's. She touched the little she-kit, Rainstone, with her muzzle. "I love you," she purred, nuzzling Hawk. That was probably the one thing she-cats could do without permission.

Hawk purred, "I love you too, don't ever forget that," he purred in her ear. He pressed against her for a long time, then drew away and turned, padding out of the den, probably going to his own private den. She usually slept with him in there, but this was where she had to stay as long as she had kits.

It felt weird, to be going to sleep without Hawk wrapped around her, but it was nice to have a break from him. She stroked Pepper and Rainstone with her paw and then rested her chin on her paws and went to sleep.

**...**

Droplet dreamed that night, which she found odd since she didn't usually dream. And she found it especially weird since her dreams had never been so vivid and seemed so real.

She dreamed she was standing on the top of one of the three tallest mountains, the other two at her sides, forming the round valley below where she lived. The view left her breathless, just like the first time she'd ever seen it.

The bright green valley sparkled with the reflection of light off of wet rocks. The few tall trees cast dancing shadows on the green-gray landscape, and the waving grass rippled like a massive wave. While the small stream that trickled through the valley bubbled and leapt in the early morning light.

The sky was a pale pink, gray clouds below her paws blocked out the rising sign, keeping the light gray. The wind, although she could feel it whirling around her, like cats softly brushing her pelt, made no sound over the rock.

She felt a whispering, a murmuring, an urging to look at the other mountain peaks. She looked, and even though she shouldn't have been able see so far, she saw two cats. Two cats in their prime, she'd never seen them before but she felt like she knew them.

One was a black and white tom, his blue eyes looked like Hawk's blue eyes. His eyes were sad, worried, anxious for something she didn't know. But she thought he looked like some cat she knew, the way his face was white with black ears…

Her gaze was forced toward the she-cat, her dark gray fur had a shimmer of blue, it was long and soft and her small, slender shape was beautiful. But she didn't look like any she-cat she'd ever seen, the defiant light in her dark blue, almost black, eyes, and the proud slope of her shoulders while her head was tilted inquiringly, almost mockingly, as she glared at nothing.

Droplet felt sudden fear for the she-cat. _She'll be killed with that kind of attitude!_ She thought, forgetting that she was in a dream. She suddenly felt tired and her legs collapsed beneath her, all she saw as she closed her eyes was the two pairs of blue eyes, one sorrowful the other defiant…

**...**

**I don't plan on all my chapters to be so short, but I won't actually know until I start writing! Also, Please Review! **


	3. Chapter 2: Just A Kit

**Hello! so I got a ton of reviews, so thank you so much! but I'm wondering if its because I answer your reviews or you just like the book. Because it'll take awhile to get through all of your reviews. But, if you do really want me to answer the reviews, please say so at the end of the chapter and I will do it! if not, then I will continue to just thank you! **

**Chapter 2: Just A Kit**

Rainstone crouched on the ground, her eyes fixed on her prey, a thin black snake that whisked from side to side rhythmically. Waggling her haunches, she pounced, claws unsheathed.

A exclaiming cry of protest rang out, the cry muffled by the small dirt walls of the den. "Rainstone!" the sharp rebuke came from her mother. Rainstone retracted her claws and stood back as Pepper whisked his black-tipped tail away and gave it a few licks, giving her an annoyed glare.

"You mustn't do that to Pepper!" her mother, Droplet mewed, her voice had a tinge of horror in it. Rainstone swished her plumy tail along the floor mutinously.

"But Mudslide attacks his sister all the time! And I was being good, I didn't even scratch him!" she protested. One moon old and impatient, she couldn't comprehend why she wasn't aloud to go explore with Pepper or play roughly with any cat like Pepper, Tangle, and Mudslide did.

Why, she'd even been cuffed by her father for defending herself when Tangle leapt on her and started clawing her! Her scratches still stung and her belly burned with resentment.

She looked at Pepper, he was pouncing on a beetle that had somehow made its way into the den, the entire episode of the tail obviously forgotten. _Pepper_ didn't care that she played with him roughly, but no cat would let her anyways!

She gave her paw a quick lick, licking it again as it twitched a few times on its own. "When can I go out into the cave? And when can I start training?" she asked in a sigh. She wanted to be a fighter! She wanted to run outside and climb the highest mountains!

But that would be impossible, so every cat told her. She didn't understand why, Tangle and Mudslide would be hunters, as well as Pepper, but she'd been told she also couldn't even be a hunter.

_ So what am I supposed to do than?_ She thought in frustration, her paws itched and she wanted to actually _do_ something! Without cats telling her 'no' every time she attempted to do it.

She looked up as Droplet draped her silver tail over her shoulders. Rainstone shrugged it off, she didn't want to be comforted, she wanted to have more freedom! Was that really too much to ask?

She padded back into the shadows as Mudslide padded in with Whisper. She flicked her tail to get the silver kit's attention, but Whisper's green eyes were tired and miserable. The kit just went to her nest and curled down to sleep.

Mudslide raced over to Pepper, leaping on her brother and tussling the smaller kit to the ground. Rainstone wanted to rush over and join in, but she knew what she would be told. _You're just a she-kit! You can't play, you're only good to look at and being used._

Those were the words Mudslide had told her so often. She didn't know what use looking at her would be or what being used was. And she had no idea why her being a she-kit would have to do with anything, but apparently it had to do with a lot of things.

Rainstone lashed her tail as Hawk came in. Her father strutted toward his son proudly, giving his an approving look as the young tom wrestled Mudslide off. "Where's your sister?" Hawk asked.

Rainstone pricked her ears, she'd never heard him ask for her before. Pepper looked around, his gaze resting on her, even though she was practically invisible in the dark shadows with her dark pelt and dark eyes.

Pepper flicked his tail in her direction and Hawk looked over to her. "I see you have sharp eyes, Pepper, that'll be good for being a hunter," Hawk purred as he padded toward her.

Rainstone looked at her father defiantly, she hadn't done anything worthy of a lecture in the past few days, following the strange and stupid rules for the most part. "Rainstone, it is time for you to see where you live," Hawk announced.

Rainstone jumped to her paws, her ears pricked and her tail erect. _Finally!_ She muttered under her breath. "Pepper, come join us on the stroll," Hawk called the black and white kit.

Rainstone was about to complain about why he had to come when he'd already seen the cave, when Droplet covered her mouth with her tail. Chocking, she glanced up into her mother's worried blue eyes.

"Rainstone, when you leave don't say anything, be respectful, and only speak if you are spoken to. And on top of it all, be sweet!" Droplet hissed in her ears.

_ Be sweet?_ What kind of advice was that? Shrugging, she pulled away and bounded after Hawk and Pepper. She followed them out, pushing softly in her excitement to see the cave. Pepper didn't say anything, but the cold look of disapproval Hawk gave her made her slow down and wait her turn.

The cave was brighter then she thought, green light flooding in from behind an ivy curtain where she could see the glimmer of water running down besides it, over the hole where the cats evidently slipped in and out.

The ground under paw was different from the grassy dirt of the kit-den. It was mostly smooth rock, cool to her touch and smooth with warm dirt filling in between the dappled stone. Looking up, she saw the roof of the cave was a mix of rock and dirt, she could even see some roots, indicating things grew above them.

Looking around, the cave seemed full of cats, and several tunnels like the kit-den were in the sides of the wall. She counted seven other dens than the kit-den in total and wondered what so many dens could be used for. She noticed that although the sides of the den were made of dirt just like the kit-den, the back wall was pure rock with water cascading down it, the gentle splashing intrigued her and she wanted nothing more than dab her paws in it.

Her sharp eyes noticed that the water was caught in a rock ditch and streamed out on the lower side of the cave, disappearing through a small tunnel. She had forgotten to ask questions in her close study of the cave and turned to see Hawk had left her and Pepper and was talking to a large black tom with gray ears and brown eyes.

"What's he doing?" she asked Pepper.

Pepper glanced at her, "He said he was getting something ready. Tangle will be made a Trainee today you know, I wouldn't be surprised if he's arranging which cats will help train him," Pepper mewed.

Rainstone nodded, stifling a twinge of jealousy, her time would come. "How many cats train a cat?" she asked, she only knew that more than one cat helped train.

"I think two or three, so that the cat isn't taught just one way of hunting, but is given several different techniques," Pepper mewed.

Rainstone nodded, that sounded smart. Excitement flashed through her paws. "I can't wait to start training!" she mewed happily, remembering just in time to keep her voice quiet, as Droplet always told her.

Pepper's blue eyes flashed with uneasiness, which confused Rainstone. "Look, Rainstone," Pepper began in a low mutter, but he stopped as Hawk padded back to them.

"So, Rainstone, I'll show what all the dens are for and then I want you to meet some cat," Hawk mewed. Rainstone nodded.

"Those two," Hawk mewed, pointing with his tail at two large tunnels side by side, "Are for the hunters and fighters, we don't sleep in the same dens, for whatever reason," Hawk shrugged as if it didn't concern him.

"Then those two," he mewed, pointing at the two dens at the sides of the rock wall in the back, "Those are for the leaders," he mewed, taking a breath to continue.

"So you sleep in one of those?" Rainstone piped up, too interested in studying the naturally made dens to remember to not interrupt. Hawk gave her a glare and cuffed her ears lightly.

"Don't interrupt," he growled, his gaze flashing around as if looking to see if any cat was watching them. Rainstone didn't know why, but he seemed to relax when he saw no cat was watching.

"Then that one," he mewed, pointing to the den next to the kit-den, "That's where the she-cats keep the herbs for healing," Hawk mewed. Rainstone wanted to ask why only she-cats healed, but she wasn't going to make the same mistake twice.

"And that one," he mewed pointing at a lone den all by itself, it was lower then the others and Rainstone noticed small claw marks were made on a rock near the entrance. Too small to be a full grown cat's, but bigger then hers.

"That is the den for the trainees," Hawk mewed.

Rainstone noticed that there was only one. "So both trainees for hunters and fighters share the same den?" she mewed.

Hawk gave her a curt nod, his annoyance showed only in the twitch of his tail. "But they don't share when they finish their training?" Rainstone affirmed.

Hawk gave her a you-better-be-quiet look as he nodded again. Rainstone shrugged, this was her first time seeing the cave! Wasn't it natural that she'd be asking questions?

"Come on, there's someone who I want you to meet," Hawk told her, lashing his tail he gave her a glare. "But you need to be quiet and not say a word, and you also need to look respectful," he added.

Rainstone tilted her head up at him and narrowed her eyes. "Why?" she asked.

Hawk hissed, "When I tell you to do something don't ask why!" he hissed, cuffing her ears, this time hard enough to make her shake her head as her ears rang.

She fumed silently as she stomped after Pepper and Hawk. She didn't know why she couldn't be given a reason for what she was told to do, or more accurately, why she was told _not_ to do so many things!

Hawk led her and Pepper to the last den which he hadn't named. "This is the kit-den for the fighters," Hawk announced outside. Rainstone snorted. _So we're separate as kits, together as trainees, and then separate again? Pick one please!_

Hawk motioned for them to stay where they are and Rainstone wondered who he wanted them to meet. He appeared a moment later, two cats following him out. Rainstone studied them and memorized them in a moment.

The she-cat that had appeared was larger then Droplet, her fur was sparkling gold and white with a soft glow, making Rainstone think it would be soft. Her green eyes were almost the same shade as the green ivy curtain, just a smidge paler then the vibrant plant.

The tom kit reminded her of the tom that her father had been talking to earlier. He was large and already muscular. His black pelt pulled tightly over his muscle. His ears were dark brown instead of gray though, and his paws looked like they were covered with mud, but she knew from scent that his fur was just brown.

Rainstone was caught in his amber eyes though. They glimmered like the last rays of sunset with a more vivid orange-red glow, like she was looking in a sparkling pool of red. She blinked, she had noticed the arrogant look in his eyes, she didn't like this cat, no matter how handsome he may be.

"Night, this is Rainstone, your possible mate, you must choose by tonight when you become a Trainee along with Rainstone," Hawk mewed. _Trainee?_ Rainstone felt a rush of excitement, she wouldn't have to wait four moons after all!

Then she frowned, _Mate? Isn't that what Droplet and Hawk are? But I'm just a kit!_ Panic and excitement overwhelmed her for a moment and she just stared at Night as he looked her over.

She wanted to flinch as he padded closer, nudging her all over, his muzzle running along the smooth curve of her ribs. "I like this cat, and you don't have any other she-kits at the moment," Night murmured.

He nodded and pulled away from her, "I want this cat to be my mate," he mewed to Hawk.

Hawk nodded, "I'll tell Crag then, we'll be all set tonight then!" he mewed happily. Rainstone blinked, she didn't understand what was happening, though Pepper looked subdued, as if he had just been scolded.

"Come on," Hawk mewed, "We have to tell your mother the good news," he purred. Rainstone skittered after him, but she cast one look back at the sympathetic she-cat and the bold tom. She couldn't help but shiver in dread.

..**.**

"Rainstone will be a Trainee tonight! Along with her mate, Night!" Hawk purred to Droplet. Droplet looked stunned, and Rainstone could see how forced the purr was.

"How can I be a mate!" Rainstone protested, "I'm not even two moons old yet!" she mewed. She had mixed feelings about the arrangement, although she'd have more freedom then before, she wasn't sure how she was going to be a Trainee when she wasn't five moons old yet.

"Why am I becoming a Trainee right now anyways? I'm not five moons!" She mewed when no cat answered her.

"That rule applies for toms who actually need physical strength for their training," Hawk mewed, though his eyes were gentler than before.

Rainstone blinked, "What will I be learning then?" she asked.

"You'll learn how to heal, learn our history, and learn the proper way to act to a tom," Hawk mewed. "Which you could very well use," he added in a lower voice.

Rainstone lashed her tail, "Will I get to go outside?" she demanded.

"When Night decides to take you outside to gather herbs, you will be able to go outside," Hawk mewed sharply. "And you will not demand things from him or any other cat!" Hawk hissed, his tail lashed.

Rainstone glared and faced her father, unsheathing her claws. "I don't want to do this!" she hissed.

"Its not your choice," Hawk spat back, "You will do what you'll told and accept it without question!" he hissed. Rainstone growled, _do they want me to be a mindless idiot?!_

Snarling, she whipped around and curled down in the nest, wishing to just sleep forever. Hawk sighed and murmured to Droplet, "She's going to be killed with that attitude," Rainstone was sure she wasn't supposed to hear that and just curled up tighter.

"Whose Tangle's mate going to be?" Pepper asked. _Yeah, which she-cat is going to be forced into this with me? Will it be Whisper?_

"Tangle doesn't have a mate yet, there aren't enough she-cat's right now," Hawk mewed. Rainstone's belly churned with anger.

"What about Whisper?" Pepper asked, was that hope in his voice?

"Whisper will be your mate, unless some cat has more she-kits, then we can reconsider," Hawk answered evenly.

Rainstone growled in her throat as she heard the happy swish in Pepper's tail. Was he really attracted to the she-kit?

She looked up at Droplet, fear and anxiousness pushing away her anger. "How can I be a Trainee? I can't even eat solid food yet!" she wailed.

"You're almost two moons old now," Hawk responded, "You will be just fine on solid food," he mewed, flicking his tail lightly over her ears. "Have strength, I know you're a bit young, but it'll be all right," he murmured.

Rainstone didn't respond, just looked at the light that was beginning to turn orange, it was almost time. Hawk got up and nodded at his family before exiting, no doubt to get Tangle ready, the tom hadn't been in the den all day, and neither had his mother, Shimmer.

Rainstone curled down in her nest, ignoring Pepper's friendly attempts to cheer her up. He gave up after a while and went to go play with Mudslide. Rainstone stayed and felt miserable for the next little while in the nest.

Then Hawk was calling for her. She got up and shook out her ruffled fur and padded to where he waited at the entrance. "You'll stand by Night when he accepts you as his mate, and you'll follow him and not say anything, go it?" Hawk confirmed.

Rainstone gave a noncommittal grunt. She was dazed by how fast everything was happening. This morning she didn't even know what outside the kit-den looked like! And now she was going to be a Trainee? She felt like she didn't know how to do anything!

She padded over to where Tangle and Night were. Another tom was there, an older tom with a brown and white pelt and large paws that looked too big for him. His blue eyes shone with excitement, mirrored in the she-cat that stood next to him, a pace behind his shoulder.

The she-cat was dark gray with a fluffy pelt and bright green eyes. They were too old to be kits, what were they doing here?

But she couldn't pay attention to that, Hawk and the large black tom with gray ears she'd seen earlier were speaking. "Tonight, we witness the change in the growing of our young," Hawk began, "And we are here to watch the ceremonies," he mewed.

The white and brown tom padded forward with the gray she-cat. "Trip, Cinder, it is time for you two to complete your training. As in custom with tradition, you will have the next half moon to cross our territory and climb to the top of the three Great Peaks that protect our home. You will eat hearty tonight and leave at day break," the black tom mewed.

"That's Crag," Nigh whispered in her ear, "He's my father," he added, his voice smooth. _Like a snake,_ she thought, it was too easy to picture Night as a snake. But than she realized what he'd told her, that meant that Crag was the leader of the Fighters.

Rainstone watched as cheers erupted from the assembled cats, mostly they came from the toms. Then Tripe and Cinder stepped back and Tangle stepped forward. The gray-brown tom's fur twitched with excitement and his white tipped tail flicked from side to side.

"Tangle," Hawk stepped forward for the Hunter Trainee. "Your trainers will be Spider, Ice, and Nightly," Hawk mewed. The three toms padded out and dipped their heads to their Trainee and stepped back with Tangle beside them.

Again, cheers erupted. Then Night stepped forward, but Rainstone stayed in her place, as Hawk had instructed her. Crag turned to his son, his large brown eyes glimmered with pride. If all went well, Night would be the next leader of the Fighters.

"Night, your trainers will be Fox, Boulder, and Pebble," again, the named three toms stepped forward and dipped their heads, but when they stepped back, Nigh remained.

"In addition, you have agreed to your chosen mate. Do you willingly take Rainstone as your mate?" Crag mewed formally.

"Yes," Night mewed, his voice strong and sure.

"Then I name Rainstone as your mate, she is your responsibility and yours to do as you please," Crag mewed. Rainstone, knowing this as her time, stepped forward to Night's side. It was painfully obvious that she was so small. Her head only reaching Night's shoulder when she stretched and he slumped.

_ They're lucky that I'm too tired to protest and make trouble._ She thought, her paws burning at Crag's words, like Night owned her now.

She wanted to cry, but she was a Trainee now, not a kit, she couldn't act like a kit. She stood as cheers and boisterous toms pushed around her. She didn't know what happened, she just saw a whiz of faces of toms pushing toward her and flirting before they were pushed away.

She just blinked blankly at it all until Night shoved her toward the Trainee's den. She stumbled inside. The den was dark, just barely illuminated by the light from outside. The walls were rock, and so was the roof, she could feel the cold stone, sucking out warmth.

But the ground was soft, it felt like it was grass and feathers. "The moss floor makes up for the stone walls," Night mewed from behind her. _So that's what it is, moss._

She forgot to be scared as curiosity surged through her. She padded around the den, there were several nests made of the softer moss and feathers and smelling strongly of different cats.

"Rainstone, I want to introduce you to the other Trainees," Night called from the entrance, his brown ears outlined against the light the came through the entrance.

She padded to him, forgetting to be indignant of his orders in her anxious of meeting the other Trainees. She blinked her eyes against the bright light, adjusting her eyes to the light.

She was met by Tangle, a muscular white tom, and another tom who stood with a she-cat. Tangle gave her a disdainful glance, as if he wasn't happy his old den-mate was coming with him to the Trainee den. But he didn't say anything, just slid past her into the den, bumping her against the wall as he brushed by.

"Rainstone, this is Sleet," Night mewed, nodding at the white tom. Sleet's yellow eyes flitted over her.

"A bit young for a mate, eh?" he mewed teasingly.

Night bristled, "She'll grow in no time!" he mewed defensively. Whether it was because he wanted to defend her, or not look like his mate was no good, Rainstone didn't know.

Sleet just shrugged and touched Rainstone lightly. "See you around pretty, little kitty," he purred brushing by her gently to the den. Rainstone shivered, she hadn't like the way he'd looked at her with hungry eyes, as if she was a special piece of prey to be caught.

Night glared after the tom, his jaws twitching in the beginnings of a snarl. Then he turned to the last two cats left, a tom and his mate no doubt.

"This is Scamp and his mate, Squirrel," Night mewed, relaxing. Rainstone studied Scamp, he had a weird black and red patched pelt and his fur was unruly, as if he never groomed it. His amber eyes were bright and laughing and she got a good feeling while looking at him.

The she-cat beside him, Squirrel, looked fun as well. Her dark red fur and fluffy tail gave her an excited look which her blazing green eyes mirrored.

"Don't worry, kit, you'll make it through, you've got a good cat to watch over you," Scamp mewed, dipping his head to Night. Night purred and nodded in thank before turning back into the den, the light becoming too dim to see anything.

He missed the gleam of ambition in Scamp's eye. Suddenly Rainstone understood why he had so plaintively flattered Night. _Night is the future Fighter leader, if they're friends, it'll put Scamp in a good position._

She admired his manipulation, and she felt that his support was real toward her, but she wondered what game he was playing at. She frowned and turned into the den before he could ask her any questions.

For a moment, she didn't know where to sleep, but then she remembered she was Night's mate. _Which means I sleep with him._ Shivering, she padded over to where he laid. He shifted and made room for her to curl down at his belly, one paw lying over her shoulder as he went to sleep.

But it felt weird, she felt too young to even begin to scratch the surface of what was happening. Her mind couldn't comprehend all these strange things. Finally, worn out by her turbulent thoughts, she fell asleep where she dreamed she was in a bright green meadow chasing butterflies. After all, she was just a kit.

**...**

**Ahem, that was sudden, right? but, that's how it is, because that's what I felt like writing that particular day. Anyways, hope you enjoyed and Please Review! (don't forget what I said at the top!) You know, if you read this at all. **


	4. Chapter 3: Rules And Regulations

**Hey there! so, when I asked if you guys wanted me to answer your reviews, those who responded to it said 'Yes!' so I shall abide to your wishes!**

**REVIEWS**

**"Levianthan48"- Here's even more!**

**"ShadowQuest2000"- Thanks!**

**"Wyldclaw"- Yeah, why do we always feel so sorry for fictional characters? **

**Mouseydragonwolf- Thanks! I love the color blue too ;D**

**Guest- Sure! I'm sure I could get her int this... maybe just change the pelt a little, you know, with a pelt like that you'd thinks he'd be the main character!**

**"Frostdawn"- Uh, thanks?**

**"Snowfeather4876"- Thanks! and no, Squirrel is a little different, I just wanted that impression. And we'll see the true nature of this...**

**"SilverStripe228"- Haha! no.**

**"Warriors Fan12"- I know, right? yeah, Rainstone is a rebellious little miscreant! I love little miscreant's :)**

**Chapter 3: Rules And Regulations**

Rainstone muttered under her breath as she sorted through the blackberry leaves, _once again_. She lashed her tail as she sat in the herb-den, sorting through her piles of herbs. Every she-cat had their own little stash they used for their toms specifically that were kept in a specific place in the den.

Her herbs were stored in a small chink in the stone wall. Like the main cave, only its back wall was stone and water dripped down one side, pooling in the corner with a rhythmic splash. It was the one sound that kept her from going insane from boredom.

Two moons into her training and she had yet to leave the cave. The older she-cats had brought her herbs and told her over and over what they were called and their usage. Rainstone, with a knack for remembering things, had memorized every known herb in the mountain.

She lashed her tail and licked her still kit-soft fur. Only four moons and almost finished with training, as training would only last until Night was eight moons and she was five moons. _At least the rule is you can't mate with a she-cat until they're six moons,_ she thought gloomily.

Night had hinted plenty of times that he looked forward to mating with her, but she had to be six moons and he had to be eight moons, as the rules stated. Just one of the many rules she'd learned.

She'd also learned everything a she-cat couldn't do, which included; not speaking without being spoken too, not leaving the cave without a tom of her family or her mate, not flirting with any tom other than her mate, not learning how to hunt or fight, not being able to be a leader, not mating with another tom, and never complaining.

Just thinking of it made her pelt prickle with defiance. Who were they to tell her what she could and couldn't do? Why did something two she-cats did countless seasons ago have so much effect on life today?

She'd heard the story of the two quarrelling she-cat leaders, blinded by their emotions they killed each other and led many of their cats to their death. Her tutor, Crisp, the mate of a fighter, for by Rainstone being the mate of a fighter she got a tutor on the fighter side, didn't even seem to care that she-cats were discriminated.

It made Rainstone growl with indignation about the regulations. Not to mention all the rules when acting with her mate. Be polite, be loving, tell him everything he wants to hear, do whatever he wants you to do; it was like she wasn't supposed to have a mind of her own!

_ But I do have a mind, and I do have my own thoughts!_ She thought angrily, accidentally tearing a blackberry leaf in her silent fume.

"What are you doing?!" Crisp's rolling mew, like water over stone, drifted to her ear. Rainstone guiltily hid the torn leaf beneath her paw.

"I'm sorting out my herb store," Rainstone answered in a growl. At least she could let her temper flare at other she-cats without getting a scratched ear.

Crisp glared at her through narrowed amber eyes and Rainstone glared back. Crisp sighed, "Look, Snake and Nigh are going to take you and me out on a stroll at dusk so that I can show you the different plants so you know what they look like, though you could probably guess from the leaves," Crisp mewed with a sigh.

The older she-cat's orange-brown fur was ruffled by a small draft that ran down the stone wall and Rainstone glanced a fresh slice on her shoulder. It was shallow and wasn't even bleeding anymore, but it would be painful.

Bitterness filled Rainstone, Snake had done that, Crisp's mate. How could they say that they loved them and then treat them so horribly? Her tail whisked over the floor. "I'll be ready," she promised Crisp, carefully putting the leaves back in the chink.

Stepping back as Crisp left, she lapped up a few mouthfuls of water, enjoying the untainted taste of the water that pooled in a stone hollow like a perfectly round bowl. Her whiskers twitched as she sat up, flicking off tiny droplets of water.

She craned her neck to see into the main cave and she growled when she saw Mudslide chatting with Sleet. Although the older white cat had become a full-fledged fighter, Mudslide had joined the Trainees a few days ago, turning five moons.

He didn't have a mate yet, since Storm's new kits, two being she-kits, didn't even have their eyes open yet. But he had been promised one as soon as they were three moons. Tangle had been promised the other

Although, Whisper remained in the kit den with her mother, Twist, since Pepper still had a moon to go until he would be a trainee._ Lucky,_ Rainstone thought jealousy, _she'll be six moons when she becomes a Trainee, I was Trainee when I was barely two moons!_

Sighing, she knew it wasn't Whisper's fault, in fact, she'd quite enjoyed Whisper's friendship in the first moon, since Squirrel hadn't seemed too interested in being her friend. Squirrel seemed only to be friends with Cinder, who had returned with her mate, Trip, and they'd both finished their training.

She glanced up as Pepper trotted into the medicine-den. She purred and rushed to touch noses. She didn't have to pretend for him, he liked her just the way she was and would listen to her rants on how unfair everything was, agreeing with practically everything she said and not telling any other cat how she felt.

He was the only tom she didn't despise. "Hey, how's it going?" Pepper asked, draping his tail around her shoulders and pulling her close so that their flanks touched.

Rainstone relaxed against him, glad to have some cat to talk to. "Its been like always," she sighed. "Look what Night gave me just because I asked to go outside!" she mewed indignantly, running her paw over a small nick in her ear.

Pepper gave a small gasp and licked her ear gently, taking the burning sting out of her anger. "I'm sorry, I'll talk to him if you want," he offered.

"Would you?" Rainstone purred, nuzzling him. "That'd be so nice," she sighed, wondering if he could get Night to allow her to ask him a question without clawing her.

Warm with affection, she'd forgotten that she was going out with Nigh at dusk, which was almost there. Gasping, she jumped up and rapidly started licking the scraps of dirt and leaves from her fur.

"Night is taking me out tonight, and I just _have_ to look perfect for his _majesty_," she growled the last part, resentment pricking at her claws.

Pepper nodded, his blue eyes sympathetic as he helped her groom her fur. When they had finished it was almost time to leave and Rainstone hastily said goodbye to Pepper.

"You're the best tom I'll ever know," she mewed, touching noses with him.

Pepper nodded and sighed, "I wish there were more cats who understood, but for now, we've just got to live with it," he sighed.

Rainstone nodded, sorry that she made Pepper so anxious, but she couldn't help how she felt about this life. She knew he was worried she'd do something that would get her killed, but she had promised she wouldn't do anything until he was leader and had more power.

She skipped out of the herb-den and toward the entrance where Night and Crisp waited. She joined them by touching noses with Night and giving a fake soft purr, as was the regulation. Night nodded at her, his amber eyes gleaming with appreciation.

She hated doing it, but she would be clawed if she didn't as she knew from experience. She knew she was luckier than some cats, Night always made sure she had food and kept the other toms at bay with his claws so she didn't have to deal with some flirty toms like other she-cats.

Though, she was well aware that the only reason why he kept her fed was so that she didn't look raggedy and that she was his, so he kept the toms away from his thing. _Whatever works, as long as I'm fed and don't have to deal with too many idiots, he can have his own reasons._

She glanced up as Snake approached, the slick black tom had brown speckled fur and dark brown eyes that darted from side to side in a sly way. Crisp touched noses and purred, her eyes gave away no emotion.

But Rainstone glared venom as he turned to her with a smirk and ran his tail along her cheek. She wanted to bite it off, but Night beat her to it. Grabbing Snakes tail and thrusting it away from her.

"Snake, so good of you to join us," Night mewed coolly, drawing up to his full height so he could look Snake almost levelly in the eye.

Snake nodded, his eyes gave only a spark of respect to his leader's son. "Night, why don't you lead and show your little she-cat the way?" Snake suggested.

Rainstone growled silently, _Little!_ Every cat called her 'little,' she wasn't that small! Even if she was only four moons old, she'd been training as long as Night and no cat called him little!

Crisp always said it was referring to her size, as she was a bit small for her age, and very small compared to the other trainees. She didn't care about that though, she wanted every cat to stop saying the same thing!

But her anger was forgotten as curiosity poured through her as Night ducked out through the hole, signaling for her to follow him. She stepped out, feeling the light spray of the small stream lightly wet her fur.

She forgot to breathe as she first took a look at her surroundings. The steep sloped, gravelly ground beneath her paws led down to a bright, green, grassy valley that was patched with trees and stony bare areas.

Around her, the mountains stretched up suddenly and arched around the valley, three peaks, almost perfectly distanced around the valley, stretched so high their peaks were lost in the clouds. She could see the sun, setting in between two of the peaks, it looked orange-red, not yellow as she had imagined.

The sky was dappled fiery red and orange with rays of rich gold staining the clouds. The breeze, fresher and warmer then the drafts in the cave, ruffled her whiskers and breathed on her fur.

She could see the green carpeted mountains, that gradually turned to pure stone the higher the mountain stretched. In the height of the warm season, everything seemed bursting with life and she caught a scent.

A scent familiar from the prey she ate, but even more tantalizing since it was alive. From far away, an eagle cried, its proud voice echoing around the valley as she watched it swirl in a circular pattern before suddenly diving downward and coming up with some small creature, perhaps a mouse, in its talons.

She'd studied all that in a moment and Night was looking at her with amusement. "Enjoying the fresh-air?" he mewed.

Rainstone was too excited to be angry at his superior tone and just nodded, her dark eyes shining. Night led her down the slope toward the valley and she skidded after him, being careful where she put her paws on the slope, since the ground crumbled away in some places.

Crisp and Snake caught up to them at the bottom of the slope and they padded onward, the she-cats at their mates side. Crisp showed her several plants, which Rainstone was able to distinguish because of their scent and leaves.

In fact, on the whole trip, the only thing she learned about the herbs was how to find some of the roots which she wasn't able to tell by the plants so easily. She was disappointed when they turned back, she'd enjoyed memorizing the twisting paths through the sparse underbrush and the trails through the valleys, the routes forever imprinted on her mind.

She scrambled up the steep slope behind Night, narrowing her eyes as she struggled to keep pace with his much longer legs. She gasped as the dirt she was scrambling on started sliding down the hill, sand covering her paws and legs so that she couldn't move.

"Night!" she wailed, since Crisp and Snake had already gotten into the cave.

He glanced over his shoulder and his eyes widened in alarm as he saw her slipping down the hill, the rock and dirt pushing her onto her side as she struggled and flailed her paws to get a hold of something firm.

She lost sight of him as sand covered her eyes and she was buried in the sliding earth and she almost froze with panic as she realized that all her attempts to stand up was only making her slide faster.

Thinking fast, she stopped moving, choking on sand that filled her lungs as she breath. She stopped sliding and she carefully reached a paw down and touched firm rock. Quickly, she thrust her paws down on the rock and jumped out of the earth pile, gasping in clean air and coughing up the sand that had gotten into her throat.

Night was beside her, licking her chest to help the coughing and massaging her to stop her body from trembling. For the first time, she got the sense that Night _did_ care for her as she looked in his worried eyes.

But she couldn't tell is he was scared for her, or if he was scared of losing his mate, his toy. She allowed him to carry her up the hill, her tail dragging the ground and she was too tired to protest.

Night set her down just before they got into the cave and Rainstone shook out her fur, shaking the worst of the sand and dirt out of her dark gray fur. Then she blinked and followed Night into the cave just as the sun disappeared behind the mountains and the shadows lengthened.

Night escorted her to the Trainees den and went to get her some prey that the hunters had caught. She groomed her fur, guessing Night wouldn't appreciate her tracking sand into their nest.

She was glad no cat came to talk to her, Scamp and Squirrel passed her and went into the den with prey in their jaws with a friendly nod toward her. She had just finished cleaning her fur when Night came back with a mouse for her and a plump bird for himself.

She frowned, "What kind of bird is that?" she asked. She'd never seen a bird so small, the smallest birds she knew were jays.

"It's a finch, they're pretty rare here, but you can easily find them in the forests," Night mewed. Rainstone was glad that he didn't say anything about her asking him a question.

Curiosity pulled at her thought as she ate her mouse, "What's a forest?" she asked as she finished the mouse.

Night frowned, "Hmm, I don't really know, I think Fox said it's a place where there's a lot of trees, but I've never seen one," he shrugged then looked at her sharply. "But you're not supposed to ask questions," he grumbled, but he didn't make any move to cuff her. She wondered is he was too full to move.

"I don't see why not," Rainstone muttered under her breath.

She hadn't meant for Night to hear but he did. But surprisingly, he just shrugged as if he didn't know, "That's just the regulation on she-cats," he mewed, though she saw for a moment a flash of doubt in his eye.

Was that what he really believed? Or what he was trained to believe? Why did every cat think so much about rules and regulations? Why were they there in the first place?

Rainstone sighed, she was tired from her brief struggle with the mountain and she wanted to sleep, but she couldn't go to her nest until Night either gave her permission or took her to their nest.

Luckily for her, Night didn't seem in a mood to chat with his friends till moon-high like he sometimes did, and just nodded at them before heading to their nest with her trailing behind.

She curled down with him, she'd grown used to his warm flank and actually enjoyed the breath stirring her ear, it sparked some foolish excitement that made sleeping with Night tolerable.

** …**

Rainstone blinked open her eyes, she saw a dizzying swath of black sky. For a moment she didn't realize where she was when she'd fallen asleep in the Trainees den.

But when she blinked, the black sky seemed to change, slowly at first, but then faster, the sky was speckled with thousands of white specks of light. She gazed in wonder as a line of silver-blue stretched across the sky like stardust.

Then, before her eyes rose a glowing white ball. _Moon,_ the name seared through her mind as she studied the uneven gray patches in the moon. Light fell on the night mountains, illuminating every object in its otherworldly glow.

_ That's where the silver light of night comes from,_ she thought, _but how can I dream of something I didn't know?_ Confusion filled her, for she knew she was dreaming, but then the wind whispered around her, feathery soft in her ears with its gentle murmur.

"_Listen to Song, watch the sky, never forget…"_ the wind murmured. Rainstone's confusion just grew, what song was she supposed to listen to? How could she watch the sky when she couldn't leave the cave without Night? Never forget what?

She wanted to demand an answer, but before she could, she was being shaken awake by a paw on her shoulder. Blinking open her eyes, the wondrous black and silver world disappeared and became just a memory. "Rainstone, I'm going out training," Night announced to her, as he did every morning.

Rainstone flicked her tail, "I don't suppose I can come with you?" she grumbled.

Night shrugged, "No, sorry, but that's the-"

"I know, I know," she cut him off with a sigh, anticipating the claws she was sure to feel for interrupting him. "That's the rules and regulations."

**...**

**So, this was a little shorter, but whatever! And that wasn't a prophecy in the chapter, as you may have guessed, we'll just have to find out what it is... Cause I don't know, actually I do, but I can't tell you! **

**Ahem, Please Review! **


	5. Chapter 4: Knowing Better

**Hello!...this is a weird chapter, in my opinion, but you can read it anyways!**

**REVIEWS**

**"Leviathan48"- Yeah, I kept hearing that...**

**"The Mystical Palm Tree"- Thanks! and we'll just have to see what exactly happens!**

**"ShadowQuest2000"- Haha! that's funny ;) and we shall see how the characters turn out!**

**"Silverstripe228"- Why what?**

**Sunfire- Okay, I'll see where I'll fit them in, and just to warn you, these cats won't be dynamic characters... **

**"Frostdawn"- Yeah! dang stupid toms with no morals! except that they make up the entire story...**

**"Silver Frost"- I know! I'm so sad for my kitties! *evil eye***

**"Snowfeather4876"- What? If I didn't torture my readers I would have to find a new hobby! ;) and no, the capitalized 'Song' was NOT accidental. *Prolouge, hint, hint***

**Guest- I know, right? P.S please use a name other then 'Guest' so that I can refer to you specifically! **

**"Warriors Fan12"- Thanks! I want to comment on all your perspectives, but I don't want to give anything away! oh, and don't say you're short, sat that you're fun-sized!**

**Chapter 4: Knowing Better**

Rainstone crouched under Night, curling around him while trying not to gag. He'd asked for her to do something different than grooming his fur, and since she'd seen other she-cats do this, she'd decided to give it a try.

What she hadn't realized when she started this was this is what cats do when they are getting ready to mate. She'd only realized after instinct had kicked in and she was feeling sick, but Night was enjoying it so she had to keep doing it, glad they were alone in the den.

She brushed her belly on Night's back and wound around him enticingly. She hated doing this, even though she didn't fully realize that she was seducing her mate.

"Hey!' a sharp voice called into the den. Rainstone jumped and turned to see Ice poking his muzzle into the den. "Is Tangle in here?" the pale silver tom asked, narrowing his eyes to peer at the moony-eyed tom behind her.

"A little young for seducing cats, aren't you?" Ice asked, his whiskers twitched with enticing amusement. For some reason Rainstone didn't understand, toms liked to be seduced.

Rainstone just shook her head to answer Ice's question. "He went out with Nightly," she mewed helpfully, speaking in a soft voice.

Ice purred, his pale blue eyes gleaming as he shook his head slowly and turned away. Rainstone turned back to Night who had recovered enough to look annoyed. "Why did you stop?" he complained, rolling over onto his back.

Rainstone twitched her tail, "Ice came in looking for Tangle," she responded. She looked at the fading dusk light that was seen at the entrance. Her mind stirred as she remembered her dream half a moon ago, of swirling stars and the silver sun.

It made her body tingle with excitement stronger then the foolish tickling feeling she got with Night sometimes. Rainstone sighed and went back to rubbing her body on Night's. She stiffened as he suddenly grabbed her and forced her on the ground, her belly pressed to the ground and his belly smooth on her spine.

"Night!" she gasped, "We're not old enough yet!" she pleaded, she really didn't feel old enough to mate yet.

Night reluctantly got off of her, his amber eyes gleamed with anticipated excitement. Rainstone shrunk back against the wall as Night padded off, his fur twitching and his tail flicking.

Shivering, she realized she'd been holding her breath and she let it out in a long sigh, sinking into her nest that was warm from Night. She glanced up as Mudslide and Tangle padded into the den and curled into the two other nests, talking quietly with each other.

Scamp and Squirrel had left to complete their final training assignment, they'd be back in the next quarter moon. Rainstone couldn't wait to go on the assignment, _only half a moon now,_ she reminded herself, excited by the prospect of getting away from the cave and being able to see the stars and moon in real life.

Her mother, Droplet, had never gone on the assignment, since she'd been born too long after Hawk to go with him, being only three moons at the time. But she'd be ready, she thought, ignoring the suggestive looks Mudslide kept giving her.

She relaxed as Night returned with some prey for them and settled down beside her, using his body to block the view of the other toms of her. Rainstone gladly ate the mouse, licking the last scraps from the muzzle as she did so.

She thanked Night for the meal, as she was required to do. And then curled down with Night, ready to go to sleep as the sounds of the main cave died down and the air turned cooler. Night was curled around her, his warm fur protecting her from the cold drafts, but she still couldn't sleep.

She could almost hear the enticing sounds of the night sky calling her out. Lifting her head cautiously, she knew it was the middle of the night and every cat was sleeping soundly.

Not daring to breathe, she pulled herself out of Night's curled nest and waited a moment to see if he stirred, but he continued sleeping soundly. Excitement flashing at her paws of the prospect of breaking the rules, she padded silently to the ivy tangle where silver light flooded the small gap at the bottom of the curtain.

She glanced over her shoulder, not seeing the amber eyes gleaming at her from the shadows. She began to push her muzzle out of the cave, her heart begging to glimpse the night sky that she knew would not let down her expectations.

She saw a sole star, gleaming like white fire in a black void. Then she was pulled away, her shoulder jerked painfully as she was spun around to stare in shock into Night's eyes. "What are you doing?!" he hissed angrily.

Rainstone just stared in shock at Night. "Say something!" Night spat, she didn't see his claws, but felt them tear her ear and felt a warm liquid trickle down her cheek.

Rainstone narrowed her eyes, he wanted her to say something? Well then she'd give him an ear full of her thoughts! "You want me to say something?" she hissed softly, knowing to keep her voice down. "Then I'll tell you just exactly what I was thinking when I was with you earlier!" she spat.

Night's eyes flickered, her whispered venom had obviously startled him. "What are you talking about? You enjoyed that!" he mewed, his voice wavering uncertainly.

Rainstone didn't believe her ears. Did he really believe she _liked_ being his pretty little toy? "What?! You really believe I actually _like_ you?" she scoffed.

Night blinked. "Well, I had supposed," he swallowed before saying anything else and he trembled slightly.

Rainstone was about to go on, but then a picture of Pepper's begging blue eyes appeared in her mind. She might be executed for what she was planning on saying. _Come on, Rainstone, you know better than this!_

She suddenly realized she'd been going about this situation wrong. She'd been playing the game the wrong way her entire life really. Instead of being abrasive and slowing herself down, play it right and run faster than any other cat. _Toms liked to be seduced, right? So why not use it?_

She suddenly purred softly, her purr like the muffled rolling of a stream. She sidled up to Night and brushed against his side, toms as lowly as these would be easy to take advantage of, as long as they think they're on top.

She ignored the doubt that by doing this she was stooping as low as them and was too young to do so, she wasn't planning on doing anything but using it to get away with things without being killed. And no other cat seemed to be bothered with her young age, so why should she?

Night had relaxed at her lovely purr and her caressing touch. "I was just kidding," she laughed gently in his ear, "I was just surprised," she murmured gently. "Why don't we go back to the den?" she suggested, her tone sleepy.

Night nodded, his eyes gleaming with a dreamy look. Half way to the den, Rainstone knew she wouldn't be able to act like this very often, she was ready to hurl from her actions.

_ I'll just use it when I'm in trouble,_ she promised herself, but for some reason, she felt now that she'd done it once, it'd be easier to do it by accident again later. The conflicted argument went on in her mind as she and Night curled back down, her trip to see the sky forgotten.

_ Its not right to use any cat like that! But they did it first. I'm too young to be thinking like this! It was the toms who made me grow up fast. I thought I was better then this! No, you just know better._

She didn't get a wink of sleep that whole night, thinking about her actions and the possibility of repeating them. She must have dozed at dawn, because she jumped to her paws when Night got up for training.

"Did you have a bad dream?" Night ask gently. Rainstone wondered if he remembered what happened last night, or if he was in such a state he had thought it was dream.

She shook her head and stretched, her mouth gaping in a huge yawn. Crisp had stopped tutoring her since she knew everything, but she would need to go collect some more herbs later that day. "Night?' she called before he left, not bothering to make her voice soft.

He glanced over his shoulder, his eyes sparking with annoyance. "What?" he asked irritably.

"I need to collect more herbs later today, if you can manage," her voice had a scathing edge for the last part.

Night's eyes flashed with annoyance, "You know, in my dream last night, you were a perfect little dear!' he grumbled. "Yes, be ready just after sun-high," he mewed louder.

Rainstone flicked her tail to show she'd heard and sat down to groom her fur. By the time she was done, Mudslide and Tangle had left and she was alone in the dark den.

Stretching, she realized Night hadn't gotten her any food. Peaking her head out of the den, she saw a few toms clustered around the pile. She wasn't allowed to get her own food and only Night was allowed to give her food.

Ignoring her grumbling belly, she padded to the herb-den. The she-cats, Swirl and Grass, were in the den, checking their herbs. As the warm season closed, they'd need to stock up before frost destroyed everything until next warm season.

Rainstone had never talked to either of these cats, but she knew their relations, as she had been required as a she-cat. Grass was Tuft's mate, a pale gray she-cat with grass-green eyes, her brother was Nightly and she had a dead sister.

Swirl was a gray and black mottled she-cat with dark blue eyes that almost looked black, like Rainstone's. She was Swallowtail's mate and Boulder's sister, she had two kits in the fighters kit-den. They were almost five moons, being born around her own birth.

Rainstone ignored the she-cats that were chatting quietly and quickly looked at her herbs, pulling out a few shriveled leaves and berries that had spoiled. _I need more burnet, daisy leaves, comfrey root, and some more cobwebs._ Although cobwebs could be found at any time and she didn't need to stock up on them, she may as well grab more while she was out.

Putting the herbs back, she turned and padded out, still ignoring the two gossiping she-cats. She was met by Pepper, his eyes bright as he stood over her, being a little taller then her. "How are you this fine morning?" Pepper purred, escorting her back over to the outside of the Trainees den.

"Good, it could be worse I suppose," Rainstone answered, carefully drawing her paw over the small scratch Night had given her last night.

"I spoke with Night about being more lenient to your curiosity," Pepper mewed, sitting down beside her.

Rainstone nodded, "I suppose I can thank you for that, as Night didn't claw me when I asked what a forest was," she mewed, nodding at her brother.

Pepper purred, happy to know he'd helped. "How much longer till you two will finish your training?" he asked, he'd be starting his training around the time she finished hers, she knew he was sad they wouldn't be sharing a den.

Even after that, when Pepper became leader of the hunters and Night leader of the fighters, they'd each have their own private dens to go to. Rainstone wondered when Night would become leader, would Crag retire? Or would Night have to wait until Crag died?

Rainstone shrugged, as a she-cat, that didn't concern her, no matter how much she wished it did. She tucked her tail tightly around her paws as her belly grumbled. She was really hungry, but Night wasn't back yet.

"Are you hungry?" Pepper asked, his eyes concerned.

Rainstone nodded reluctantly, "Night forgot this morning," she muttered, saying that made it sound like she was admitting that she was his!

"I'll go get you some," Pepper offered.

Rainstone shook her head, "I don't want you getting into trouble for me," she muttered.

"It'll be fine, see?" he mewed, sweeping his tail around the main cave. "There's hardly any cat around right now, I doubt any cat would notice," he mewed cheerily, his blue eyes sparkling.

Rainstone was too hungry to argue so she just nodded and watched Pepper get to his paws and trot to the prey-pile. He moved casually, only shooting a discreet look before grabbing a morsel of a hawk.

Rainstone purred as he trotted back, no cat had noticed. "Eat it quick!" Pepper encouraged. Rainstone wolfed it down in a few moments. It wasn't as filling as a regular meal, but it took the edge off her hunger.

She sat back, licking her whiskers and purring about the rule they'd just broke. "Well, that was fun," she purred.

Pepper laughed, "Yeah, well, I'm not going to make a habit of it!" he purred, nudging her shoulder gently.

She purred back, it was good, just sitting and talking with her brother, a cat that didn't judge her by her gender, didn't hold her to the unreasonable rules, just liked her for who she was. She scuffled her paws as she saw Snake pad past, his eyes twinkling suggestively and his shoulder moving in a way that showed off his muscles more.

Rainstone rolled her eyes as he padded past and huffed. "Honestly, I thought I was too young to be appealing to a cat as old as him!" she snorted, her shoulder fur prickling with unease and anger.

Pepper laid his tail over her shoulder, the comforting touch calmed her and she sighed, stretching out onto her belly. She yawned, still tired from not sleeping last night, maybe she'd be able to catch a nap after her herb-collecting expedition.

She chatted awhile longer with Pepper before he went back to the nursery. She decided to go with him, she hadn't seen Storm's new kits yet, though they were almost a moon old now.

Slipping in after Pepper she instantly wished she hadn't come, she didn't want to be reminded that she should have still been in there, playing like a kit and not training yet.

She flexed her smooth muscles, they were more developed then they should have been and her fur was sleeker then Pepper's. _From eating prey sooner,_ she thought, her tail twitching. She was glad Droplet wasn't there at the moment.

"Rainstone!" Whisper mewed happily, touching noses gently with her.

Rainstone purred and nudged her soft-spoken friend. "Are you excited to be almost a Trainee?" she asked as Whisper slipped to Pepper's side. Pepper looking down at her gently and Whisper looking up with admiration.

"I can hardly wait,' Whisper breathed, still gazing at Pepper. _As if you don't spend enough time together already,_ she thought in annoyance, flicking her tail.

"I just came to see the new kits, but if you're two are too busy…" she trailed off and Whisper snapped her gaze back to her with a mixture of guilt and embarrassment.

"Sorry, Rainstone!" Whisper apologized, slipping from Pepper's side. "Come see them!" Whisper invited. "They're adorable!"

Rainstone joined her at the side of Storm's nest. Peering in, she saw three sleeping kits. Two she-kits and a tom. "They're Stick, Sandy, and Frost," Whisper told her.

Rainstone matched the names pretty easily. The tom, no doubt, was Stick, a lanky brown tom. Sandy was probably the pale ginger tabby she-kit. And Frost, undoubtedly, was the silver she-kit with white tabby stripes.

Rainstone nodded, the warm smell of milk and Storm's loving gaze on her kits was making her mind fuzzy, and she needed to go meet Night anyways. "They're lovely," she mewed curtly.

Then she nodded quickly and bounced out of the den, hurrying over to the ivy curtain and quickly smoothed down her pelt, waiting impatiently for Night. The black tom appeared a few moments later, his amber eyes were sparking with excitement and his fur twitched.

"Guess what!" Night purred.

"What?" Rainstone asked, her ear twitching impatiently.

"I found out that we'll be able to take the final assessment before Tangle!" Night purred, his eyes gleaming. Rainstone nodded, she'd suspected as much, since she was Hawk's daughter and Night was Crag's son. Though she'd half hoped Tangle would be able to make the assessment first so that she could have a little more time to grow, she still wasn't even the size of half a full grown cat.

She glanced at Tangle, he was lashing his tail with annoyed impatience. He'd have to wait a half moon since only one pair of cats could do the assessment at a time. Rainstone angled her ears toward the outside, reminding Night what they were doing.

Night nodded, too happy at the moment to think her implied order was a question to his superiority. Rainstone sighed and shook her head, how could the toms think so little of what the rules meant? Did they just not think to much about it because it would be incontinent to them?

Why couldn't some she-cat stand up to them? _Because they have all the power, she-cats don't know how to hunt or fight, we'd be destroyed,_ a tiny voice whispered, Rainstone just sighed, annoyed with her pessimistic thoughts, and followed Night out.

Once she glimpsed the outside she relaxed and she remembered trying to see the sky last night. _What does it look like at night? Does it look like my dream?_ she wondered, curiosity biting impatiently at her paws.

But she focused on padding in a zigzag pattern down the slope as Night had told her to do until she was older. Or more specifically, bigger, when she'd have the strength to fight the slipping soil. Night's black tail waved sleekly in front of her. For the moment, she could forget all her misgivings and despise toward him and just relax being on a stroll with a cat she knew.

She padded to his shoulder as they padded through the green grass, some of the green stalks brushing as high as her chin. The few crocked trees cast delicate leaf patterns on the ground. Rainstone pointed her muzzle over to a feathery willow tree.

Padding beneath the dome shaped branches, she glanced at Night as he padded over to her, his eyes shone with curiosity. "What are you looking for here?" he asked curiously.

"Comfrey root, good for broken bones," she responded, opening her jaws to breath in the tangy smell of the flower. The flower had large leaves with small flowers, these flowers were purple, but they could be pink or white.

"Just broken bones?" Night asked as she began digging in the moist soil for the root.

"No," she mewed, "They can also be used to soothe wounds, help wrenched claws, sprains, or itching," Rainstone mewed around the black roots as she pulled them up, dirt speckling her muzzle. "But they work best on broken bones," she mumbled.

Night nodded his eyes warm as he gazed at her. Rainstone blinked, did he really love her? But if he did, why claw and scratch her? _Does he really not know any better?_ The thought thrummed through her mind, along with what she'd done last night, using his emotions to her advantage.

Guilt made her ears hot at how low she'd stooped and she followed Night with a cloud of thoughts in her mind. _Toms may not know any better, but I do, and if I want to be better then them, then that means not acting like them. I guess that's the inconvenience of knowing better._

**...**

**So, to me that sounded like a re-do of the last chapter, but look closely! there are some hints of future plot-points! ;)**

**Please Review!**


	6. Chapter 5: First Glimpse

**Hello! you know... oh, ****never mind**

**REVIEWS**

**"Wyldclaw"- Thanks!**

**"Wanderstar"- There will be an implication...**

**"ShadowQuest2000"- Thank you! ;)**

**"Anova00"- Thanks!**

**"Snowfeather4876"- Yeah, he isn't as bad as some cats. Well the she-cats have no skills really, or power, so its difficult to start a rebellion.**

**Sunfire- Okay! we'll see them before long :)**

**Mouseydragonwolf- Yeah, I guess I should have mentioned there will be spots of more mature content, not that it will be anything seriously dirty.**

**"Silverblaze72"- I was actually thinking of doing a chapter from his or Night's POV, we'll just have to see what happens...**

**Chapter 5: First Glimpse**

Rainstone yawned and rolled over, her flank pressing against Night's side. Early morning light filtered into the den from the entrance, pale and clean. She pricked her ears as she heard murmuring outside, curiosity pulsed through her paws, tugging at her to go see.

But she couldn't as long as Night was still asleep, her vague curiosity wasn't as strong as Night's claws. Besides, she could guess what they were talking about. This morning Pepper, Whisper, Cliff, and Tinge would become Trainees and she and Night would begin on their final assessment journey around the mountains.

Energy and excitement throbbed through her like her heartbeat and she could almost see the night sky and taste the stars on her tongue. _Its so close in reach!_ Closing her eyes, she remembered her dream of inky black sky and dancing stars through the endless night.

Energy made her want to get up and dash around in a circle like a kit, but that would disturb Night and she'd get in trouble. Instead, she contented herself with an eccentric tail lash, avoiding Night's face of course.

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, savoring the voice her mind replayed, like the fading echoes around the mountains that one can keep hearing for a long time. _Listen to Song, watch the sky, never forget…_

A moon after hearing it, she was still no closer to figuring it out, but it called her forward, gave her promise of something more, made her feel less alone… Again she listened to it, the smooth ancient rasp of the voice and the knowing lilt to the words, like the nostalgic tone of a very old cat.

"Rainstone?" Night mumbled, rolling onto his back and blinking sleepy amber eyes at her.

"Yes?" Rainstone murmured, nudging him gently, too excited to be anything more then slightly annoyed that she had to play nice with him.

"Are you ready to start today? An entire half-moon away from the cave…" Night mewed, a smirk playing on his face.

Rainstone heart fluttered like a trapped bird at the thought of leaving for a half-moon, not having any cat telling her what to do or what not to do… "I can hardly wait," she breathed with a purr, helping Night groom his pelt before the ceremony.

Even though it was hardly dawn, she could hear many cats out in the main cave already. Mudslide was the only other cat in the den, curled up in a tight ball, just a heap of dark brown tabby fur, with the splash of black on his paws.

Rainstone relaxed and purred, right now, with Night softly snoring as he started falling back to sleep and Mudslide looking so innocent, she could almost imagine they were all just happy in life. _But that won't happen unless something changes…_

Grooming her dark bluish gray fur down, she shook it out, catching the blue tinge at the edge of her vision as a stray ray of sunlight hit her. "Are you ready?" Crag asked, pocking his head into the den to stare at Night.

"Completely," Night responded with a nod, Crag nodded back, pride flashing in his eyes.

Rainstone followed Night out and he led her through the throng of cats to the front where Pepper and Whisper sat, Cliff and Tinge besides them with Sleet not far off. Rainstone frowned and leaned toward Pepper.

"What's Sleet doing here?" she murmured in his ear.

"Tinge will become his mate, she was too young when he became a Trainee, and he wanted to wait until she was six moons before she became his mate," Pepper murmured back, shooting a sharp glance at Sleet. "So that he could mate with her right off," he grumbled.

Rainstone shivered, she still felt much too young to mate, but the idea was less of a shock now that she was five moons. She stood a step behind Night, her head was still only to his shoulder so he blocked most of her view, but she studied Cliff and Tinge besides her, she hadn't seen them much before, only Cliff really.

Cliff was a gray tom with brown paws and blue eyes, with a body very much like Swallowtail, his father, with a longer tail and larger ears then most other cats. Tinge had the same body, a bit more slender, catachrestic for a she-cat, but her fur was white with gray tinged ends that made her look fuzzy, though her yellow eyes were sharp in contrast.

Rainstone listened with a half an ear as Pepper and Whisper became mates and Trainees while Cliff became a trainee and Tinge became Sleet's mate. Her other senses were all focused on the ivy curtain and what laid behind the cave's mask.

"Night, Rainstone!" Crag and Hawk called them forward. Rainstone stepped after Night and stood in front of her father. She hadn't spoken to him in three moons, all but ignoring him and her mother as a Trainee.

But she searched his face earnestly now, looking for pride and happiness, but his eyes were expressionless. Rainstone felt bitter disappointment throb through her for a moment, like she'd accidentally bitten down on a yarrow stem.

But then it was gone and Crag was ordering her and Night out on their journey. Night dipped his head respectfully to the two leaders and touched noses with Crag as was custom.

Rainstone dipped her head low, hiding her resentment, and then briefly brushed Crag's muzzle, but she paused at her father and looked up into his eyes, allowing a moment of sadness.

"Sorry I couldn't make you proud," she breathed, just loud enough for his ears alone. Hawk blinked, Rainstone thought she saw a glimmer of guilt in his eyes, but then she turned after Night and pushed her father out of her mind.

She ignored the fixed pairs of eyes on her as she padded to the edge of the cave where the ground broke away on the steep slope. Night halted and glanced at her, blinking his amber eyes at her, for the first time she could remember, he looked nervous.

_ Why? He knows how to fight, and basic hunting techniques, I'm the one who doesn't know how to fend for myself!_ She thought with a prickle of impatience. She gave him a small nod of encouragement though and he nodded back, his eyes grateful as he turned and padded out of the cave.

Rainstone followed, glad her legs were long enough and her paws were strong enough to get her down the slope in a controlled walk. Night didn't say anything as he led her down to the valley.

"So, where do we start?" she asked, staring around at the three peaks, they had to get to the top of each one.

Night frowned and looked around, not rebuking her for asking a question. "Where do you think?" he asked, looking dazed at the amount of ground they had to cover in such a short time. But Rainstone wasn't sympathetic, was he not even the least bit excited? She was so excited she wanted to dash over to the mountains and start climbing them right away!

"What about there?" she mewed, pointing her tail at the second furthest peak away. They would then cross the furthest peak on their way to the last peak and would thus be the easiest route. Having the shorter length to go at the end of the journey.

Night nodded, looking relived, "We can probably get just above the base of the mountain before sunset," he mewed, sounding more confident. So they started out, the sun to their backs as they began, padding paw-step by paw-step closer to the peak.

By sun-high, Rainstone was beginning to tire and fell behind Night. She had eaten only a small shrew before they set out and her mouth was dry and tasted of dust. "Can we take a break?" she mewed in a complaining tone.

She half-expected a scratch for her complaint, but Night just nodded and stretched, shaking his black fur. "There's a little grove over there with a small pool," he mewed. "We only just passed the border though," he added.

Rainstone happily flopped down on the warm stone by the edge of the pool, lapping the water up until her mouth and throat was wet. Flicking the droplets off her whiskers, she dabbed her paw in the pool, watching the ripples, the water gleaming in the sunlight. She pricked her ears as a shadow flitted beneath her paws.

She glanced up as Night crashed through the long grass behind her, a rabbit in his jaws and distracting her from the evasive shadow. It was smaller then some, but was still a filling meal for the both of them. Rainstone yawned and stretched out on her belly with her paws dangling over the pool, the sun warm on her back.

She yawned and closed her eyes, the lazy hum of bees in her ears and the lapping sound of Night grooming his fur soothed her so that she dozed on and off until Night nudged her. "We need to keep moving," he mewed.

Rainstone yawned and purred as she rolled onto her back, scratching her pelt on the warm rock. "Okay, " she murmured, yawning again as she stared at him through narrowed eyes.

Night purred, was she imagining it or was Night more relaxed then in the cave? "You know," he mewed, "You're acting different then in the cave, more relaxed," he purred softly, as if reading her thoughts.

Rainstone blinked up at him, "So are you. And is it any wonder? If I let the wrong word slip out I could be killed!" she snorted angrily.

Night shifted his paws uneasily, as if he didn't want to discuss the subject, and Rainstone got a first glimpse of what the rules meant to Night. He didn't like them, but he went along with them and tried not to think of it too hard because then his conscience would be too much.

_ Pepper thinks of it, and he's not afraid._ Rainstone thought gloomily. But she just shrugged and followed Night, padding at his side as they continued through the unfamiliar grass that would suddenly become gray stone and then soft, short grass, before turning stony again.

They padded mostly in silence, Night kept checking their position and Rainstone let her mind wander as she studied the unfamiliar land they padded through, anything from meadows to rock fields. As the sun began sinking ahead of them, they'd reached the first mountain.

Rainstone craned her neck to see the top and studied the mountain. It was the second tallest mountain, starting out wide at the bottom and growing narrower as it got higher, its top looked like a round flat, table, as if a giant paw had swiped the top off.

"We should start climbing it, its not dusk yet," Rainstone mewed.

Night sighed, "I was afraid you'd say that," he sighed, but he took the lead and led her up a winding thin path. They zigzagged up the mountain, slipping between fallen boulders and leaping up stretches of steep rock.

They made quick work, getting up the first bit of mountain, where it flattened out to a mini valley with running water, just after sunset. "There! We can rest here for the night," Rainstone puffed, her legs trembling from the effort of leaping up the last bit which had been almost a cliff edged rock.

Night nodded, looking content to be done, too exhausted to complain at her commanding tone. Rainstone realized how natural it felt to command. "Night, why don't you go catch us some prey and I'll make us a nest and find some shelter," she mewed crisply, padding over to sniff at a cave made by fallen rocks.

_ This'll do,_ she thought as Night padded off to find some prey. Rainstone went to the small stream that ran down the mountain and found some moss on the rock. With practiced ease, she clawed the moss up with sharp, controlled movements.

She shook the moisture out and brought it back to the cave, making a large makeshift nest, warm with plenty of moss. She sat back, Night wasn't back yet and the shadows were growing, the bright world had turned so quickly to one of shadows as the sun abruptly disappeared behind the mountain they sat on.

Her heartbeat sped up as she looked at the sky, it was darkening, indigo with flashes of orange and milky yellow. Her eyes fixed on one bright star that was visible. She held her breath, her eyes fixed on the star so that all she was aware of was the roaring blood in her ears and the wind that tugged at her fur, urging her to just let go. To just run away.

Her paws itched to leave, to leave it all behind and never look back. But she knew in her heart she couldn't, she didn't know how to take care of herself and she couldn't leave Pepper, he'd be heartbroken if he thought she was dead!

But it was so tempting… Night would never see her again and she'd never have to do anything she didn't want to. She'd have everything she'd ever dreamed of.

"Hey! I found plenty of prey!" Night's pleased call shook her out of the trance and she tore her eyes away from the star and felt her thoughts smothered down. Of course it was impossible to leave, but she knew the thought would never quite leave her.

She ignored the pricking at her paws as she ate a mouse while Night tucked into a jay. Personally, she didn't like the tough meat of the small creatures, she preferred meat to be more soft, with a different tang then what the hunters would bring back.

She hesitated as Night called her to the den she'd made. She wanted to watch as more and more stars appeared as night took over the sky. She really wanted to see the moon, she could see its glow, hiding behind the mountain across from her, evading her peering eyes.

"Rainstone!" Night's persistent call, growing an edge of impatience made her get up and pad over to him and curl down besides him, his larder black fur blocking her view of the sky.

She was too tired to fight sleep and she fell back into the dizzying torrent of dreams that came from an exciting day, they came in flashes and left before she knew what they meant.

.**..**

Rainstone jerked awake and leaped to her paws, fur on end and eyes staring into blackness as a crashing rumbling sound made the ground beneath her paws tremble and made her freeze with fear.

Shivering, she padded to the entrance where Night sat, his ears flattened against his head against the sound as his amber eyes peered into the hissing, black rain. Rainstone jumped as a flash of light seared across the sky, lighting the cave up enough for her to see Night's fur was bushed out.

The light was followed by a crashing rumble. "What is it?" she asked, her voice trembling with fear as her heart beat heavily in her chest.

"Thunder, and lighting, I've never seen it before, but Boulder told me its pretty rare here and they're only in the warm season. He also said they can be very dangerous," Night mewed in a low voice, his ears strained to hear the thunder.

Rainstone felt better now that she knew what it was, but she didn't want to go back to sleep. Not that she could, with all that noise sending her heart jumping at every pounding crash or blinding flash. She dozed off as dawn neared, her head on Night's slumped shoulder and his tail curled around her protectively.

She never saw how gently he had stared at her, how protective he was of her. How sorry that this way of life was better then the life in the cave, knowing that he would never be able to make her happy. His heart ached as much as hers. But he felt trapped. As a leader's son and future leader, he was stuck until he was leader, then maybe… just maybe… he and Pepper could make a change.

But when Rainstone awoke, he didn't say that, if he did, it might give her the courage to do something stupid before he was ready to live up to his words. Rainstone yawned and stretched, oblivious to the conflicted feelings in Night, but she had already caught a first glimpse of his views and she could hold on to them even when there was nothing else left.

Rainstone shook out her fur, grooming the unruly fur as she looked up at the sky. With dawn the worst of the rain had moved on and she only saw a few flashes of light beyond the mountain ridge along with a few echoing rumbles of thunder that rolled to her ears and thrummed around her, speeding her heart up.

"Are we going to set out soon?" she mewed through a yawn, studying Night, he looked oddly perplexed, his eyes flashing with thoughts like the shadow that flitted under the water.

Night nodded and rolled his muscles, his eyes closing as he relaxed into a luxurious stretch. "I'll go find us some prey and then we'll set off, we definitely need to get to the top of the peak before evening," he mewed.

"You think it'll take all day?" Rainstone asked, they'd made it quite far yesterday.

Night nodded, "We'll be hitting some tricky spots, especially after the rain last night," he mewed. "I'll be right back though, so don't go anywhere," he mewed as he exited the den.

Rainstone fluffed out her fur, she hated feeling useless. She sat down with a bump, her tail lashing as she leaned outside the den. It was still sprinkling, the rain splashing on her muzzle, cooling her temper as it cooled her face.

She sighed and closed her eyes, just relishing in the clean cold rain. She scented Night before she heard him. "Hey, I found a mouse for the each of us," Night's mew was muffled and Rainstone could smell the musky scent of mouse.

She grabbed the mouse from Night's jaws, her muzzle softly brushing his. She padded into the small cave to avoid setting the mouse in the mud and Night slipped in beside her. They ate in silence, Night bothered by his own thoughts and Rainstone's wandering to the days journey.

_ What will the top of the peak be like? What is so special about these peaks that they're so important to our cats?_ Her mind imagined that maybe there would be something special up there that they would find up on the top…

She was panting before long as they left the small valley ledge behind, her short legs straining to continue climbing up the steeply sloped and twisting path. "Can we take a break?" she panted, flopping down on a twisted, exposed root of an old, crooked tree.

Night nodded, sitting down with his head down, getting his breath back as Rainstone closed her eyes and just focused on how relived her legs felt now that they weren't working. All too soon Night was padding away and she had to scramble after him.

They traveled in silence the whole day, too tired and out of breath as they tried to keep their footing on the slick slope, wet from the rain. Rainstone's legs trembled as the sun passed sun-high and began sinking down the sky.

She had never been so exhausted and there was still the hardest part left. Just above where they stood, the mountain turned suddenly from sparse forest and tuff grass to solid rock, slick and steep, just a few crumbled pathways up to the top.

But she refused to complain or even voice the doubt she felt that her legs would make it up the difficult trail. Her pride wouldn't allow her, even if she was sure she'd die on this journey, it was her pride that kept her silent.

Night's shoulders hunched as he dug his paws firmly into the stone ground and flattened his ears in determination. Rainstone followed him, glad that puffy white clouds had covered the sun, even though they promised more rain on the brisk breeze that carried them. At least she didn't have the glare of the sun reflecting off the stone to distract her.

Her paws slipped and scuffled as she pulled herself up paw-step by careful paw-step. Night gave her his tail to grab onto as they trekked in a patch of ground where the ground crumbled away in sharp cliffs. Any cat unlucky enough to step on a broken piece of land would tumble down the steep rock, so far that they probably wouldn't survive the fall.

She gasped as the ground under on of her paws slipped away. She jumped away from it before she could stumble and padded forward, her eyes wide, ears pricked with alertness, and her tail bushed out to twice its normal size.

Finally, they made it to the top. Night bounded the last few tail-lengths ahead of her, leaving her to scramble up the last boulder by herself. She puffed as she leaped up it, her forelegs hitting the top while her back claws scraped at the stone, trying to push herself up.

With a massive heave, she managed the roll herself up and laid panting on her back for a moment before padding slowly up the last bit of trail. She let out a huge sigh of relief as she stopped at the very top, the top was a perfectly round table-top, as she'd noted from below.

It fell away steeply from all sides except for the narrow trail which they'd climbed. It wasn't too big, about as long as the cave had about the same width as length, completely bare of anything but one sedge bush. She spotted Night, standing with his ears pricked and his amber eyes wide and sparkling with excitement.

Wondering what had made him forget about his weariness, she padded to the edge and turned to look down the mountain toward the valley. Her breath was gone and her paws felt rooted into place as her eyes drank in the dazzling sight.

The valley, like a spot of green grass on a stone landscape, seemed brighter by contrast to the dull rock. The slim stream wound through it like a silver snake, shining and slipping along its chosen path.

The other mountain peaks arched over the valley, like a mother leaning protectively over their kit. Their dark green and gray coats looking warm and soft while the hard stone muscles stayed, unmoving, ready to protect their nest if danger came along.

But a whispering in the back of her mind tore Rainstone's gaze away from the safe valley to look the other way, into the unknown.

The other side of the mountain had not a speck of green, a few sparse brown bushes dotted the harsh and spiky cliffs and peaks that rolled on forever. But for some reason, the harsher landscape brought a larger sense of home and curiosity then the safe and peaceful valley.

The harsh cry of an eagle echoed off the rocks and the wild scent of the wind the blew over the sharp stone filled her mouth and made her hungry for more as it whistled in her ears. For a heartbeat, she thought she saw in the horizon, just a small shadow in front of the gray light of the setting sun behind the clouds, the outline of a cat that whisked out of sight before she could study it.

Rainstone blinked, Night seemed content to look over his home, a sense of purpose and warmth filled him as he resolved to spend all his fighting skill on protecting his home. But Rainstone, she'd caught a first glimpse of something more, something larger, something she couldn't quite comprehend.

But somehow, without fully realizing it, she knew, just _knew_, that thousands of lives went on beyond their valley, others better then hers, others worse. But all were a fresh chance for striking at a new legacy.

**...**

**Travelling adventures are so fun! right? and I'll just ask politely, Please Review!**


	7. Chapter 6: Taste Of Freedom

**Aloha****! no, I've never been to Hawaii, but my cousins have! **

**REVIEWS**

**"Wyldclaw"- Thanks!**

**"Wanderstar"- thanks you! its always good to get a look on another cat's views, especially when he's on the opposite side. **

**Nachoparty22- Haha, thanks!**

**Dawnfeather- I know! so many possibilities in the mountains ;)**

**"Silverfrost"- Well, forgiveness really, you know, if you keep shooting back insults and fighting back, it just goes on and on, so by forgiving and letting it go, they were able to have peace!**

**"ShadowQuest2000"- Are you a mind reader? I ask that question a lot, but it just seems everyone knows my ideas!**

**"Snowfeather4876"- Thanks! well, the she-cats can't leave the cave unsupervised, so its very difficult for them to learn anything.**

**Mouseydrognonwofl- Thanks so much!**

**"The Spirit That Comes At Night"- What a nice thing to say! thank you!**

**"Anova00"- Wow! thanks!**

**"I Am Basic"- Whatever works, honest;y, I don't really know what I'm writing, it just evolves in my head and I write it. I hardly ever think about it.**

**Chapter 6: Taste of Freedom**

They traveled without stopping for the next three days. One day to get down the mountain peak, one day to pad across the mountain ridge, and another day to climb up the next mountain, having to stop just past half-way up the mountain because of the tricky path and dark shadows of night.

Rainstone licked her paw, rasping her tongue over the torn raw flesh. Days of trekking over stone had resulted in all her soft paws being torn. She glanced at Night, he was checking around the small, slanted clearing on the side of the mountain.

They'd decided to make their den under a sparse bush that would offer only some cover on the bare stone slope. Ever since the thunderstorm a few nights ago the air had been cold in the morning and there was frost on the stone every morning.

The ice tinged wind, although worried Night, excited Rainstone. She liked to look at the intricate patterns of frost on the stone in the morning before the sun came up and stole it away. She glanced at Night, weariness pulling at her eyelids.

"Lets go to the den," Night mumbled through a yawn. Rainstone nodded, her tail dragging behind her as she plodded to the bush, she'd been unusually tired for the past day. She peered at the uncrossed territory beyond the mountain they were on before ducking under the fronds of the bush.

Ever since she'd first laid eyes on it she could hardly keep her eyes away long enough to watch where she was putting her paws. That distraction was to be thanked for the cut on her leg she'd received after she slipped down the mountain and cut it on a rock while trying to stop herself from sliding down any further.

But she was exhausted now and gladly curled up beside Night, letting the voice of the ancient cat lull her mind to sleep with untold promises and hopes.

**…**

The next day dawned cold and gray as she struggled to pull her eyes open. Clouds had rolled in during the night on a chilly mountain breeze, though there was no brooding scent of rain. Rainstone shook out her fur as Night sat up, his eyes blinking in confusion for a moment before understanding and intelligence filled him again.

She shivered at the icy tang as the wind blew with full forth through the sparse bush, though it failed to clear her foggy mind. Shaking the bush and scratching her fur. She jumped out to avoid being scratched anymore and Night followed her, licking a paw and drawing it over his ear as he narrowed his eyes against the blustery wind.

"Still like the wind?" he muttered to her, shivering and fluffing up his fur, though the wind still sliced right through it.

Rainstone nodded, even though she was shivering and yawning. "I like the taste of it," she mewed, breathing in the wind that rushed into her mouth.

Night snorted, "And what does it taste like?" he grumbled, pulling a twig out of his fur.

Rainstone breathed in the wild dry taste of the wind with consideration. It sent her heart thumping fast in her chest and her ears were pricked forward and she was fully alert for the moment as it rushed around her, bringing distant sounds and scents of faraway places to give her a taste of them.

"It tastes like _freedom_," she murmured quietly, her eyes staring at nothing as the wind buffeted her.

Night stopped at that and stared at her, his amber eyes glistened with sadness for a moment before they darkened again. "Of course it does," he mewed solidly before stretching his legs.

"Lets get moving, we can find some food on the way, but if it does start raining, I don't want to be stuck on the top of a mountain," Night mewed with an ill-tempered flick of his tail.

Rainstone didn't bother to point out that the wind didn't smell of rain. Night knew that, he was just finding an excuse to be annoyed. Rainstone just shrugged and followed him, she wanted to see the other side of the mountain again, a full view, not the glimpses she got as they padded up the mountain.

Rainstone had gotten used to the exhausting work of climbing around the mountain. But this one was steeper then the last, more like a pointed spire whose top was lost in the clouds. The mountain was pure stone as well, not carpeted with grass or trees like the other two mountains.

She gritted her teeth and dug in her sleepy paws which she couldn't wake up, struggling to keep up with Night's longer legs as she raced after him, her head so dizzy from tiredness she could have tumbled down the mountain and wouldn't have known the difference.

"Can we take a break?" she gasped, they'd been traveling for what seemed like a long time. It must have been past sun-high, they hadn't eaten, and the ground kept getting steeper. She couldn't feel the wind anymore, her body was numb with cold and exhaustion and she rocked on her paws as she stopped moving.

Night looked back at her, his eyes were tired, but no where close to the exhaustion she was feeling. She could see his eyes grew alarmed as he looked at her, as if he could see how exhausted she felt.

Rainstone held onto his eyes, all she could see were those two amber pools that moved closer to her. When she blinked, she couldn't feel anything but herself being pulled backward by an invisible force and her legs crumpled as she slid backward.

Stone scratched her legs, but teeth grabbed her scruff before she slid far and she was lifted entirely off the ground, just her tail dragging. Her mind reeled but she couldn't grasp what had just happened or open her eyes to see, she felt like there was a heavy stone on her chest, making it difficult to breathe.

Then she felt flat stone beneath her paws and water splash against her muzzle. _Is it raining?_ her tired mind wondered, but this was the rhythmic splashing of a stream. As water made its way to wet her tongue, her mind began to clear and the stone shifted, allowing her to breathe more.

Stretching her eyes open with effort, she saw she was lying on some flat stone high in the mountain, for clouds wreathed around them, and a trickling stream, no more then a tail-length wide, splashed besides her muzzle.

Night stood over her, worry clear in his anxious movements and he breathed a sigh of relief as she opened her eyes and raised her head. "I thought something was terribly wrong, you got tired faster then usual, and then you just blacked out…" Night burst out then trailed off, his voice edging with fear.

Rainstone flicked her ear, suddenly aware of how dark it was, and that the faint light came from the west, as if it was already dusk… "How long was I out?" she mumbled anxiously, trying to steady her mind and heart..

"Most of the day," Night admitted, scuffling his paws. Rainstone blinked, it felt like she'd only just fallen backwards!

"I'm so sorry!" Rainstone burst out, struggling to sit up. "I didn't meant to do that," she mewed sheepishly, more embarrassed for collapsing so easily then putting them about a day behind where they wanted to be.

"Don't worry," Night soothed, stroking her shoulder with his tail. "We'll only just below the peak, we'll finish the climb tomorrow, its more important for you to rest, we can't have you collapsing again," Night mewed, frowning.

"What's wrong?" Rainstone asked, not missing the guilty look in his eyes.

Night shuffled his paws, "Well, there's a small rule I had passed over for you," he muttered.

Rainstone's ears pricked. "What rule?" she growled, her fur pricking with uneasiness.

"Its about the assignment, a cat is only supposed to go on it if they're at least eight moons, so you should have stayed back at the cave while I did this alone, because its so difficult," he muttered, flattening his ears. "I'm sorry I made you come along," he muttered.

_ Oh, so I'm three moons younger then I should have been, no wonder why its so hard when Cinder said it was pretty easy. Though, why should this matter if it didn't matter for me becoming a Trainee? I was three moons young then too,_ she thought with annoyance, then turned back to what Night had said.

"Sorry,'…" Rainstone echoed, remembering the apology. "Are you feeling all right?" she purred and he looked up, his eyes confused. "I don't think you've ever apologized for making me do things I didn't want to do," Rainstone swept on, ignoring his confusion.

Night shifted his paws. "I know, but it would be easier if you followed the rules!" he complained in a whine.

Rainstone couldn't stop the flush of anger and she jumped to her paws. "If the rules weren't so unfair I'd follow them!" she hissed.

Night waved his tail in a calming motion. "I didn't make the rules, but I'm bound to follow the rules, for now at least," he mewed, a glint coming to his eyes and Rainstone pricked her ears.

"What do you mean?" she pressed.

But Night looked unwilling to speak. "It doesn't matter, later is not now," he grumbled.

Rainstone sighed, she was to tired to get anything more out of him, she just wanted to go back to sleep, so she closed her eyes, curled down, and started to dream.

**…**

Rainstone dreamt she stood on stone, she could feel the smooth cold rock beneath her paws. But darkness flowed around her, she could feel it, like warm water swallowing her whole.

She looked around, trying to see something other then pure blackness. She pricked her ears as a whisper whistled around her ears. _"Listen to Song, watch the sky, never forget… Listen to Song,"_ the voice repeated itself and she looked around for the speaker, but she could see nothing.

She pricked her ears as a humming sound chirped around her, rising and falling in melody. _A song? Listen to song? This song?_ She tried to separate the words that hummed in a rolling voice of the same raspy ancient voice that whispered in her ears.

But the words were lost, her ears catching nothing like a piece of prey disappearing beneath her claws. Growing steadily agitated and uneasy, the voice dropped away and for a heartbeat there was a flash of gray in front of her eyes, the black silhouette of a cat in front of her was all she saw, the only color was narrowed dark amber eyes.

"_Ancestors,"_ the voice echoed through her mind, though she didn't hear it through the ears, it just seared through her mind as if placed there. She frowned, what did '_ancestors_' mean? What were ancestors? Questions bubbled through her, but the voice had disappeared and so had the warm blackness pressing her sides, she was alone.

_ "No, never alone,"_ the voice reached her ears once more and in a blinding flash the sky was illuminated by silver, blue, and black, all whirling around together like the stream and the white glowing moon centered right above her, filling her eyes with its beauty.

She held her breath, her eyes held on to it for a moment longer as it gradually faded to blackness, but she thought she saw the silhouette and amber eyes once more before she blinked and woke up to foggy gray light.

She shivered, even though Night's warm black fur kept the chilly air from reaching her bones. Her paws were damp and her fur was bristling as she looked around the bare gray rock, though all she saw was black and blue sky with silver and white stars and moon.

The air was calm, heavy clouds wreathed around her and the air felt damp, she guessed that was why her fur felt wet. _What happens if it rains while we're in a cloud?_ She wished she knew because at the moment she didn't really want to be wet and cold.

Night, woken by her movement, sat up and stretched his jaws in a yawn, his ears pinning back and his eyes closing as he rubbed his bleary eyes with a paw. "How are you feeling?" Night asked, his eyes were clear, and Rainstone wondered if he ever had dreams like hers, or if her dreams were for her alone.

"I feel great!" she purred, feeling a trickle of warmth as Night gently touched her ear with his nose. It was true, and not just from the unspeakable dream she had, she really did feel stronger then yesterday when she'd woken up.

"Good, I wish I could hunt, but I haven't seen anything since we left the forest two days ago, we'll have to get there tonight," he mewed, frowning. Now that he'd mentioned it, she realized how hungry she was, her belly tight and invisible talons clawing at her belly.

"Come on," Night encouraged, though he must have seen her doubt, "The sooner we get moving the sooner we'll get to the prey!" he mewed, jumping to his paws.

Rainstone jumped after him as he padded up the stony trail, not bothering to shake out her sleep-ruffled fur. Her paws padded confidently up the tricky terrain, it wasn't as difficult as she'd thought, but she still had to take longer then Night while scrambling up the boulders that were strewn across the path.

Before long they emerged from the clouds and Rainstone felt as if they'd climbed right into the purple dawn sky. Her eyes grew wide as she stared around at the wide sky, a few stars remained on the darker corner of the sky, the side they were in.

On the other side though, the rising sun was just appearing, the first orange rays breathing warmth on her cold fur. Below, the clouds billowed, blocking everything below them, even the other mountain peaks were hidden.

She turned and looked into the unknown the sharp grey peaks were shadowed in darkness, calling her to explore the mysterious depths. The first rays of sunlight touched the tallest craggily peaks, turning the gray stone pink.

She purred in happiness, she wanted nothing more then to watch the mountains like this, but something wasn't quite right… It didn't feel quite like home, as if she wasn't entirely welcomed anywhere but the unfriendly mountains that no cat had ever padded on.

She turned and saw Night, sitting un the top of the peak, it was no larger then three tail-lengths all the way around, the slimmest of the spires for the peaks. His amber eyes were warm, "You really like it here, don't you?" he purred, his eyes darkening, "You don't like the cave," he sighed.

Rainstone blinked, it was true, she'd be happy to stay here forever, never going back to the cave to deal with all the troubles that laid there. "No, I don't like the cave, but I don't have much choice," she sighed, a long relentless sigh.

Night sighed as well, he had always known Rainstone wasn't happy, but she'd have to deal with it until he could do something to possibly change everything, he hoped she wouldn't do anything that would get her killed, especially since he would be the one to end up doing the killing.

"Listen… Rainstone," Night mewed awkwardly, Rainstone blinked, he looked perplexed, then again, he'd often looked perplexed on the journey.

"Can I make a deal with you?" he asked, Rainstone stared at him and shifted her paws uneasily.

"What kind of deal?" she asked warily, sweeping her tail around her, she hoped he wasn't going to ask her to mate with him.

Night sighed, "If I promise that when Pepper and I become leaders we change things, will you promise to follow the rules until then?" Night asked, his amber eyes begging her to agree.

Rainstone swallowed, she wanted things to change, but she could wait that long? Would she even make it to then? "I-I'll try my best," she mewed, though her heart wasn't in the promise, her heart lay in the night sky, in forbidden desires.

Night blinked, he didn't look thoroughly convinced, but he nodded. "But I need one promise from you," Rainstone mewed, stepping forward boldly, even though she had to look up at him for he was so much bigger then her.

"Yes?" Night inquired, his eyes wary.

"You have to promise to not mate with me until I'm at least eight moons," she mewed stubbornly. The rules were she had to be six moons, but she wanted to be eight moons at least, so that she was nearly full-grown by then.

Night hesitated, she could she he didn't want to wait, but he dipped his head, the sun sparkling in his fur. "I'll wait," he promised.

Rainstone purred and relaxed, nudging his shoulder, though she couldn't call much warmth for him. He felt like he'd be more of a friend then a mate, but he obviously felt different, his eyes sparking at her touch.

She swallowed, hoping he would never be able to know those feelings, he'd be angry and disappointed and possibly wouldn't keep the deal they'd just made.

"Lets get going," Night mewed, taking one last look at the clouds that had started to become lighter and higher as the sun had came out, so that they were once more in fog.

Rainstone nodded, wishing she could see the other side of the mountains once more, but the clouds had closed in, boxing her in there trap. But her head buzzed as she climbed carefully down the mountain, she had gotten her first taste of freedom, and she wasn't about the let it go.

**...**

**Sorry that its kind of broken up, but that's how I wrote it! I can't say anything more cause my internet is buggy at the moment and I need to get this up before it goes out again! Please Review!**


	8. Chapter 7: Back To The Start

**Hello again! finally got this done, had a little block on this chapter, but its gone now!**

**REVIEWS**

**"Anova00"- I know, its cute :)**

**"Silverblaze72"- Thanks!**

**"CrystalStar Of LightClan"- I will! and if she had a perfect life, then where's the story?**

**Mouseydragonwolf- Thank you!**

**"ShadowQuest2000"- Haha! well that's good! if you knew all my ideas, it wouldn't be a very good story for you then ;)**

**Pianodevotion- Hmm... I'll have to read it sometime, and I did thank her! she's so nice :D**

**"Crowstar54"- I'll try to update faster! but I can't make any promises...**

**Dawnfeather- I'd answer your review, but it hasn't appeared yet, and I didn't memorize it when I moderated it, sorry! ;)**

**Chapter 7: Back To The Start**

Rainstone scrambled back to avoid flashing claws. Her fur was bristling and her eyes were wide with fear and excitement as heat and energy pulsed through her. Her shoulder was sticky with blood from a stinging scratch, but she leaped back into the brawl, pummeling the side of a skinny brown tom with a flurry of swipes.

At the base of the third mountain she and Night been ambushed by three cats, and had quickly been pushed into an all-out fight. She jerked her head back to avoid snapping jaws from a gray and white tom.

She was glad Night was a fighter, if he wasn't able to keep most of the focus on himself, she'd have been severely injured already, she just didn't have any training, everything she was doing was based on instinct.

She had a moment to breathe as the two toms who had been snapping at her lunged for Night as he clawed the skinny brown tom away from her. Rainstone frowned, looking around for the third cat, she hadn't seen the cat well before and she couldn't see it now.

But as something leaped into her, rolling her off her paws, she knew she'd found it. _Or more it found me,_ she thought as painful claws raked over her flank. She kicked out feebly, but the cat was heavier and bigger then her and she ended up pinned, her struggle all in vain as she hissed up at her attacker.

But then she froze as she looked up at the alighted green eyes of her attacker, a pretty dark brown and golden dappled _she-cat_. She just stared, all her wounds numb for the moment as she stared in amazement. _How does a she-cat know how to fight?_ Curiosity and admiration, probably the opposite feelings of those she should have been feeling, swarmed through her and she almost purred.

Then the she-cat was pushed off of her and Night was nudging her to her paws. "We need to run, now!" he hissed as she stumbled when putting weight down on an injured paw. She looked over her shoulder and saw the three cats, each bleeding, but better off then they were, chasing after them.

Gritting her teeth, she ignored the excruciating pain as she raced after Night, not stopping until he pounding paws behind them faded to silence. Rainstone threw herself on her belly and twisted her head to look at her injured fore-paw.

She grumbled as she saw it was twisted and swollen from running on it. She glanced over her other wounds, none were too deep and they would heal with a few herbs. Then she looked at Night, he'd been lapping at the small stream they'd collapsed by, now he was soaking a bloody foreleg in it, making the water swirl crimson orange in the dusk light.

She hobbled over to him on three legs and sniffed at it as he pulled it out of the water. It wasn't deep, but still bleeding. Quickly looking him over, she saw with annoyance that he had only a bite mark on his tail that hadn't broken the skin to prove for the fight.

Grumbling, she padded over to a felled log and raked her paw through the hollow, pulling out a forepaw matted with cobwebs. Putting them on her injured paw, she tottered back to Night and laced his wound with cobwebs.

Night nodded, "Lets get going then," he mewed.

Rainstone glared at him, "I haven't healed myself yet," she snapped, pain making her irritable. She nodded to her own wounds and twisted paw. "We'll probably have to stay here for the night," she mewed discouragingly.

Night swished his tail angrily, but he didn't argue. "Fine, I'll find some prey while you heal yourself," he muttered unsympathetically. "But don't think I'm going to let you hold me back _again,"_ he snapped, shooting her a glare.

Rainstone fluffed up her fur and drew her lips back in a snarl, though she knew he was just being difficult because he'd been ashamed he hadn't been able to fight he cats off and had let her be injured. That, on top of the tiring journey, was making them both short-tempered.

As Night padded off, Rainstone padded awkwardly over to some comfrey plants. Gabbing a few roots, snatching a wide oak leaf, and a long shoot of tough grass, she chewed the root into a pulp and covered her twisted paw, then wrapped it in the leaf and bound it with the grass, tying it securely.

She tested it against the ground, and relaxed as only a prickle of pain sprouted from her paw. Glaring against the setting sun that shone right in her eyes, she cleaned her wounds and then squeezed some marigold on her wounds before covering them with cobwebs.

By the time she returned to the clearing she'd left Night, the sun had faded and twilight had settled with its gray-purple light. Night looked up from where he was eating a squirrel, which was rare, and flicked his tail toward a mouse he'd left for her.

She tucked into it, happy for the food for her hungry belly. She yawned in contentment, her belly full and the air was comfortably warm, though cooling as the sky continued getting darker. "Do you want to sleep there?" she asked Night, pointing at the twisted roots under a tree that formed a natural den.

Night sighed and nodded before padding hesitantly toward the tree. Rainstone understood, there were probably all sorts of bugs under there, but it was the only place with cover for the moment. She followed him, limping and then slipping down under the roots, Night curling around her.

She had trouble going to sleep, her wounds were painful and kept her awake while every time Night bumped her injured paw she wanted to hiss. She fell asleep as the moon's white light shed silver light on her, calming her nerves and her wonder overtook her tiredness and her exhaustion eventually lulled her into a dreamless sleep.

**…**

The next day they headed up the last mountain, walking in a tense silent, Rainstone's fur prickling every time their fur brushed. They made it to the top of the first stretch, just below the half-way mark, by sun-high.

Rainstone, who was panting from exhaustion and her legs trembled as she pulled herself onto a wide flat rock of a stream that tumbled down like a twisting waterfall. The rock was damp and she leaned down cautiously to lap at the pure water.

Night shook out his fur, a cloud of dust rising around him and he grumbled something inaudible. Rainstone's dark gray fur felt hot as the bright sun soaked into her fur like a piece of moss soaking up moss. Her paw ached and she carefully took it out of the wrap.

Outside the protection of the leaf, it felt brittle and delicate as she carefully splashed the cool water on her paw to clean off the old poultice that stuck to her fur. Then she carefully cleaned her paw with gentle licks, smoothing out the fur that had clumped in spikes in the poultice.

She carefully rolled onto her back and scratched her back and head on the warm rock while being careful not to bump her injured paw. She couldn't stop thinking about that she-cat, the she-cat who knew how to fight and could defend herself.

Rainstone's fur twitched and her paws buzzed with anticipation. If that she-cat could learn to fight, so could she! She hadn't done half bad in the battle anyways, with training, she could be very good! Even good enough to prove that she-cats could fight as well as toms!

She carefully rewrapped her paw with a fresh poultice from some roots she'd seen that grew besides the rock she laid on. Then wrapped it with a rather large dock leaf this time, and then bound it with another sprig of grass.

By then, Night has come back and Rainstone cautiously limped over to him, lifting her injured paw off the ground quickly as she had been doing all morning. "You doing okay?" the gruff mew in Night's voice almost hid his worry, but Rainstone knew him well enough to detect it, not that she appreciated his concern.

"Fine," she answered curtly, grabbing the small bird he'd dropped at his paws. She didn't like tough bird meat, but she liked it more then shrew, which was what Night had left for himself. Rainstone flicked her tail as she once again felt the heat of the sun, there was no cover on this mountain! It was grass all the way to the top, she hoped clouds would move through, but the breeze was gentle and humming, no fresh scent to give her hope for a change in the weather.

_ Then again, in the mountains, that can change fast,_ her fur prickled at the though of a storm later that evening without any cover. She shook the thoughts away, Night was heading up the trail again and she had to follow with her limp.

Up and up they went, sometimes the trail would be almost flat, at other times, so steep she had to leap up it, which caused her to stumble on her injured paw. As they went higher, she began to get dizzy and she and Night had to stop several times between her underage and injured paw, she would have quit if she could.

She gritted her teeth though, she wouldn't give up in front of Night, wouldn't slow him down by refusing to go on that day, no matter how much her legs ached, every sharp bolt of pain every time she put her injured paw down, or however much her paws bled from being dragged over the stony ground in her exhaustion, leaving smudges of blood as a trail.

She was never so relieved when Night halted early, though they were so close to the top that she could clearly see the top, only a hill stood in their way. There was still no cover and the grass was sparse, the ground mostly gray stone, making it look like a faint green mist over the slope.

There was no stream, but there was a small pool of collected rain water. She bent her head down to lap a bit, it was a little stale and warmer then she liked, but she'd live. Night crouched beside her to drink some water as well, his amber eyes watching her as he lapped at the pool and she sat up.

"Well, we'll be back in the cave in about three days," Night mewed, looking happy at the prospect of finally finishing the assessment. But Rainstone, even though she didn't want to keep walking all day with her injured paw, didn't want to go back to the cave where it was stuffy and she was confined to the dark cave and stuck sorting through dusty herbs and pretending to be a helpless and naïve she-cat.

Although, she was looking forward to seeing Pepper again, she couldn't wait to tell her brother about all that she'd seen! Though she'd keep her dreams a secret, they were for her alone, at least until she worked out what they meant.

Thinking of her dreams, she remembered the one word that puzzled her more then anything, _'ancestors.'_ She shivered just thinking of the word, it meant something important, she was sure, something that she needed to know.

She looked at Night, he'd never mention the word, she wondered if he knew and decided it wouldn't hurt to try. "Night?" she mewed cautiously, trying to pick the right words.

Night glanced over his shoulder from where he was pulling grass into a large nest. "What?" he asked, his voice was guarded but not unfriendly like earlier.

"What's an 'ancestor?" Rainstone mewed, looking at him with her head tilted to one side and her ears flopping slightly to the side.

Night frowned, his amber eyes showed nothing but confusion. "I don't know, where did you even hear that word? Or did you make it up?" Night mewed, his voice growling the last part.

Rainstone fluffed up her fur in annoyance, "I'm not making it up! And where I heard it… its hard to explain, I don't think I ever heard it, I just heard it in my head…" Rainstone trailed off in confusion, forgetting what she was trying to do.

"So you did make it up? You can't lie to a tom! You'll be in a lot of trouble if you do that back at the cave! Remember our deal?" Night growled, his fur prickling.

Rainstone jumped to her paws, her attempt of being cautious gone in her surge of angry resentment. "I'm not lying!" she hissed, "I heard it in a dream! And its important! I know it is!" she hissed so viciously that Night's eyes widened and he took a step back.

His eyes were calm though as she stood, trembling, in front of him. He waved his tail soothingly, "If you heard it in your dream, then it was probably just something your mind made up and you thought it was important, its no big deal, besides such a thing as an _ancestor_, doesn't exist," Night mewed gently.

"Yes it does!" Rainstone insisted stubbornly, refusing to believe her dreams meant nothing.

Night laid his tail over her shoulders and she wanted nothing to do but bite it off, but she just shrugged it off and padded away a few steps to the edge of the cliff side of the mountain overlooking the other side of the valley.

But she was too distressed to marvel in her wonderings of who lived out there and what it would be like to travel over them. _I know my dreams are important! I just wish I could figure them out…_ Miserable at her own ignorance, her helplessness tightened itself around her like a snake constricting her, making it impossible to breathe and she blinked back tears as her eyes watered.

"Are you okay?" the warm and strained voice of Night echoed in her ears but she just shrugged and hung her head, she didn't want to talk to him. "Do you want to come to the nest?" he asked, his voice pleading, but Rainstone shook her head, ignoring his sigh of sadness.

Night's paw steps retreated and she heard him curling down into the makeshift nest as the sun disappeared and the moon came out. Even after seeing it so often, it could make her forget her worries and fears.

She felt herself melting away into its silver light and her exhaustion pulled at her. She laid down on her back so she could watch the sky as she slid into sleep, she felt like she was drifting on clouds and her misery fell away, dropping down to the valley below, waiting to snap her back in its jaws, but she was safe from it for now, and she relished in it, having the best sleep for nights.

**…**

Yawning, Rainstone rolled to her paws the next morning, feeling refreshed from her good night's sleep. Night was padding toward her, two mice hanging from their tails were in his jaw. She grabbed one and ate with him in silence, not wanting to talk about last night.

Night didn't seem to either and they soon began climbing up the last bit to the rounded top of the mountain. The gray light of dawn and the cool breath of wind wreathed around her, like the sweet perfume of lavender in her herb store.

Her paw was stronger then yesterday, and she was hardly limping as they started off, her pace slowing only slightly when they had gotten to the top. Rainstone, although shouldn't have been start-struck after seeing the view two times recently, purred as she spun around, seeing the valley and unfamiliar and desolate peaks in a single heartbeat.

She purred like an idiot as she trotted lightly around the rim of the jagged edged peak. She turned to Night who was watching her with amusement. "You love the view that much?" he laughed lightly, padding over to her and brushing a piece of grass off her shoulder with his tail.

Rainstone just nodded, breathing in a deep breath of contentment. "It looks amazing," she mewed, looking around with wide eyes once more. Night touched her nose, his eyes stared down at her, his amber eyes warm and he pressed against her.

Rainstone forced herself to relax against him, though she just wanted to step away. _What? Am I worrying about his feelings now?_ She did think that it was mean of her to not try to love him, but she really didn't love him, no matter how hard she tried, she knew she would never feel close to him.

"We better get moving though," Night mewed as the sun rose over the knoll where the cave was.

Rainstone sighed, though she knew he was right, they wanted to get to the bottom of the mountain before tonight, she took one last look of the surrounding territories before following Night down the mountain. But the heartbeat she left the peak, she felt as if the journey had ended and as dark fog clouded her mind, she knew was back where she had started.

**…**

Two days later, as dusk came on, they were climbing the last slope to the cave. Rainstone wondered how that slope had ever been difficult for her, it felt so easy after climbing the other three mountain peaks.

The loose dirt cushioned her twisted paw and she hardly limped as she followed Night sedately, too tired and worn out to do anything but follow him up the slope. She pricked her ears and peered around Night as a call sounded from above her head.

She blinked as a lanky black and white shape leapt out from behind the ivy curtain and raced toward them, skidding to a halt in front of her and blinking his blue eyes with relief. For a moment, Rainstone didn't recognize the muscular tom in front of her who stood three mouse lengths taller then her, then she gasped as his scent hit her.

"Pepper!" she exclaimed, nuzzling him as he licked her ear. Pepper purred, it sounded deeper then before. _We were only gone for half a moon for goodness sakes!_ Pepper turned and greeted Night with a polite nod, though his eyes had wandered to her paw wrapped in a dock leaf.

"What happened?" Pepper asked, his eyes darkening with concern as he sniffed at her paw.

Rainstone's fur prickled a little from annoyance and embarrassment as Pepper pounded her with questions that were too loud and numerous for her sleeping ears. "Lets get into the cave first," Night's mew echoed her annoyed feelings.

Pepper nodded, falling silent as they finished the trek up the slope, though his eyes watched her every move, as if waiting to help if she fell. _I'm not a kit anymore!_ She thought with annoyance and moved closer to Night to be away from Pepper.

Pepper didn't seem to mind she'd left his side and he even purred with a bit of amusement before bounding ahead of them, evidently to announce their return. Rainstone shared a glance with Night before they entered the cave.

"Remember our promise? Just follow the rules for now," Night mewed, seeing the apprehension in her eyes. He stroked his tail down her spine and she allowed herself to be soothed and followed him in confidently.

The heartbeat she breathed in the scent of all the cats who dwelled in the cave and the slummy tone and words of the other toms, she was already missing the glimpses of the outside world and cold wind of freedom.

As she was pushed around and flirted with by all the other toms in a jumble of celebration, she felt as if she was right back where she had started when she'd first left the kit-den, not knowing how to react or what she was supposed to do.

**...**

**Okay, so thankfully that's the end of the travelling! I was beginning to run out of ideas, as I mentioned. But I hope it was amusing enough for the time being, and Please Review! **


	9. Chapter 8: Breaking Rules And Promises

**Hehey! that's not actually a getting, but my mind is elsewhere at the moment. Oh, and if something seems to be getting... suggestive, its absolutely nothing, nothing bad, scout oath.**

**REVIEWS**

**"Levianthan48"- Slowly but surely ;)**

**"Wyldclaw"- I have no idea, and if you've never heard of a word or thing, and the person says they heard it in a dream, it would seem it was made up. **

**Dawnfeather- Maybe, I gave them names just in case**

**"Crowstar54"- Well, this is definitely not repetitive.**

**"pianodevotion"- Thanks! I though threeish chapters was a good length.**

**"CrystalStar Of LightClan"- I'll use Crystal, in a different way though, and could you give me a different description of looks? I don't want to sue the exact same cat in two of my story's. **

**Mouseydragonwolf- Thank you!**

**"ShadowQuest2000"- Yep, plenty of interesting things in store.**

**Chapter 8: Breaking Rules and Promises**

Rainstone sneezed as dust rose as she took out her herbs. A moon of being back in the cave, and she was ready to scream. All she did was check her herbs and play along with the toms games. She didn't even have much time with Pepper, he was gone so much. And she hadn't had one more dream since she'd returned! She was beginning to think it had all been in her head…

Although, Whisper had become an even closer friend and they'd often go out to collect herbs together with heir mates. "Do you have any extra Tormentil?" Whisper asked from where she was checking her herbs on the other side of the den, snapping her out of her irritated thoughts.

Rainstone sniffed, "A little," she muttered, grabbing the root and padding over to Whisper, handing her the root.

Whisper nodded, "I'll get some more in the next few days," she mewed, her voice, which never shook from patience, was as calm and friendly as always. _Figures, if I loved Night like she loves Pepper, then it might be easier._

Annoyance flashed through her, how could Whisper stand it? "What's the point of all this?!" she hissed, her fur fluffing up and her tail lashing behind her.

Whisper didn't look surprised by her sudden anger. "The point of what?" she asked calmly, her green eyes gazing into hers like green pools of water.

"The point of gatherings herbs! We hardly ever use them, but all we ever do is mess around with herbs! I hate it!" she spat, her tail lashing behind her as she paced impatiently, her paws prickling against the cool stone.

Whisper moved in front of her, the taller she-cat blocking her way, she glared up at the silver she-cat. "Rainstone, you need to calm down, its dangerous to question your duty, you should be honored to be able to help your mate," Whisper mewed in a low and serious tone, her green eyes piercing her so sharply that she had to look away in embarrassment.

She sighed, though she still found it hard to breathe in the dusty den, "Fine, but I don't feel honored, I feel _used._" Whisper blinked sympathetically.

"I know, but you have to live with it, you might try looking at the positive things rather then the negative things," Whisper mewed, her dark flecked fur shimmering in the strong sunlight of the afternoon.

Rainstone's nose twitched, it was too warm in the cave, she missed the cold taste of the wind. "What kind of positive things? We don't get to do anything important!" she snapped.

"We don't get to do anything dangerous," Whisper countered, her voice still patient.

Rainstone flicked her tail, "I'd rather be doing dangerous things," she grumbled, shoving her herbs back in place.

"You will be," Whisper mewed.

Rainstone flicked her ears, "What does that mean?" she growled.

"It can't be long before you get a Trainee to instruct, and if she's anything like you, it'll be dangerous," Whisper purred, but Rainstone was hardly amused.

"Except there are no fighter kits at the moment," she snapped discouragingly.

Whisper nodded, "True, but there should be before long anyways," she mewed.

Rainstone growled, her tail whisking behind her as she stalked out of the den, leaving Whisper behind.

"Hey little kitty," she flattened her ears at Sleet's annoying mew.

"You're lucky Night's not here right now," she muttered, too low for him to hear.

"Do you want to go get some fresh-kill?" Sleet asked, sidling up to her.

"Go ask your own mate," she snapped, stalking away before he could clip her ears, "Its against the rules for me to go," she growled over her shoulder.

"I love she-cats with an attitude," Sleet purred, sitting down and wrapping his white tail around his paws.

Rainstone rolled her eyes, "Ugh!" she muttered, padding over to where Pepper sat by the entrance. "Can you take me outside? I need some fresh air," she mewed.

Pepper nodded, his blue eyes gentle as he nuzzled her, "Of course, but I've got to be back here by dusk," he mewed, leading her out, as her brother, he could take her out.

"Where do you want to go?" he asked as she closed her eyes and just breathed in the clear air.

"Someplace where we can be alone," she muttered, her eyes tracking three small dots trekking across the browning valley. She knew one was Night, even though she couldn't really see.

"Okay," Pepper mewed, leading her at a run across the valley. Rainstone pushed herself to keep up, her legs, though shorter then Pepper's, where stronger and she pushed past him, though not too far, she didn't know where she was heading.

Pepper swerved behind her over a sharp ridge that dropped suddenly down a few steps to a wide dirt clearing. There wasn't a speck of green and the other side of the clearing fell into a steep chasm that rose up again a few tail-lengths away to the mountain ridge.

"No cat comes here often, there's no prey and its too dangerous to train," Pepper mewed, flicking his ear at the chasm.

Excitement churned through Rainstone's belly, this was perfect! She could finally do what she'd wanted ever since she'd seen that fighting she-cat! "Pepper! Do you know what we could do here?!" she mewed, her voice squeaking like a kit as she bounded over to him, her tail straight in the air.

"No, what is it?" Pepper mewed, his eyes wary.

"You can train me here! You can train me how to hunt and then all you know about fighting!" she purred.

Pepper's eyes grew blank with horror, "What?! Rainstone! That's a terrible idea! If any cat were to find out you would be _killed!"_ he hissed, his eyes worried and fearful.

Rainstone felt a surge of indignation, "No cat would find out! You just told me no cat comes here, and its sheltered from view until you are standing on the edge of the drop!" she protested, angling her ears to where they'd leapt down.

"What if some cat follows us?" Pepper mewed, his initial fear gone, but he still looked far from agreeing.

"Why would they do that? You're future leader, and I'm the mate of the other future leader!" she mewed, her tail flicking impatiently, why couldn't Pepper just agree?

"No, its too much a risk," Pepper mewed stubbornly.

Rainstone growled, "Then I'm just going to keep getting angrier and angrier until I do something that will definitely get me killed!" she hissed.

Pepper's eyes darkened, "You wouldn't," he growled.

"Its not really a matter of choice! One moon back in the cave and I'm ready to screech at every cat who comes near me! I won't last until you're leader, Pepper," her tone became a gasping beg.

Pepper still looked worried, but something in her eyes, some desperate plea won him over. "Okay," he sighed, hanging his head, "I'll teach you."

**...**

That was how it started, every day, between training, Pepper would take Rainstone out and they'd train. Pepper wouldn't admit it, but Rainstone had a talent for it, she mastered everything faster then he had and soon he was just training her all the new things he learned.

The fighting part was the hardest, Pepper wasn't good at ducking and twisting and timing his claws. But Rainstone picked up everything he showed her and always easily beat him when they sparred. He knew she wanted to learn more, but he insisted it was too dangerous for him to ask for advanced battle training, it'd look suspicious, especially since he could hardly do the basics.

As they padded into the cave, dusk light streaming behind them and a bunch of daisy leaves in Rainstone's jaws. She waved her tail at Pepper in farewell, her paws buzzing with what she'd learned.

She'd converted one of Pepper's new hunting moves, in which he hid and then lunged out to hook his prey in his claws by sliding along the grass. She'd changed it to hooking out his legs and then rolling him on his back, he'd been so impressed he'd asked her to teach it to him, though he'd had trouble aiming for the soft spot in her legs.

She quickly put her herbs away, ignoring Droplet who had been going through her own herbs, pulling out a few shriveled berries. As she exited the den, she blinked in surprise as she was met by Scamp. His fur unruly as ever and his bright amber eyes warm with friendliness.

"Night asked me to escort you over to him, we'll having dinner with Squirrel, my mate," Scamp mewed calmly, his voice wasn't judging or suggestive, it made her relax.

"Yes, I know who Squirrel is," she mewed slowly, padding by his side as he led her through a throng of cats, shooing toms away with sharp glares. Some higher toms would ask their friends to escort their she-cat's to them, to keep flirty toms from intervening with their journey. And with Night being the future leader…

They made their way to the back of the cave, Night sat with a large rabbit at his paws and talked quietly with Squirrel, the red she-cat answered politely and Night was somber in his questions, though his eyes were focused on her as she padded up to him and sat by his side, her fur prickling as she brushed by Scamp, his curious bright gaze warming her more then Night's loving one.

All through the meal, as they all ate and Scamp and Night discussed things such as the weather, the lineage of the cats, and the possibility of new trainees. "Sandy and Frost are almost three moons, they'll be made Trainees soon," Scamp was mewing.

Night nodded, there were no fighter kits so he had nothing to report. "Eh, maybe you should start thinking of kits?" Scamp suggested, his eyes were warm, but not pushy.

Night's fur fluffed up, "We're good, thanks," he mewed curtly. Rainstone sighed in relief, she was only seven moons old, so she still had a moon of clean youth left. Though she stiffened as she saw the considering gleam in Night's amber eyes.

_ He better not be thinking of breaking our promise!_ She thought with a surge of anger. Then a voice piped in her mind, _why not? you broke your promise… Shut up! That's different!_ She told the voice, though she shifted her paws uneasily.

"So, what about you and Squirrel?" Night mewed gruffly, obviously trying to shift the focus.

Scamp eyes darkened slightly and he frowned as Squirrel gave him an uneasy glance. "We tried it once, but we didn't like it," he mewed awkwardly.

Night just shrugged and Scamp relaxed. "Anyways, its getting late, we're going to go to our nest," Scamp mewed, standing up and Squirrel standing up as well.

Night nodded, "Rainstone, just wait here, I have to have a quick word with my father," he mewed, angling his ears toward Crag who was with Leaf outside his den.

Rainstone nodded as he padded away and Squirrel headed toward the Hunters side of the sleeping den. But Scamp hesitated by her, shifting awkwardly and his eyes darting around. "Yes?" she asked politely, glancing up at him, enjoying the warm feeling in her belly that was new to her.

"Oh, uh, um, I just wanted to say it was nice talking to you, we should do it more often," he mewed politely, flicking her shoulder with his tail, but for once, she didn't mind it and just nodded.

"I enjoyed it too," she mewed, with a hint of a purr. Scamp held her gaze for a moment longer, then followed Squirrel into the den. She sat thoughtfully, watching where Scamp had disappeared, she'd always liked the rambunctious tom, but she'd never seen him in _that_ way, _maybe its not so bad after all_. She thought, following Nigh to their nest. _Maybe its nice to find a friend, or maybe something more._

**...**

She was still thinking about Scamp the next day, hardly able to concentrate on her jobs. She kept telling herself that loving one of those toms was wrong, especially when she had Night. But as she watched him, throwing his head back and laughing with his friends, filling her ears with the loud ring, she couldn't help the warm feeling from tickling her.

She skipped training with Pepper that day, too distracted to even try. And she wandered around, trying to think clearly about her feelings that seemed to effect her so much. _Is this how Whisper feels? Is that how she stands it?_

At dusk she was sitting outside the herb den, just thinking about how wrong and right everything had turned, she found it almost stupid how easily she'd been swayed, not that there was much else to occupy her thoughts, being stuck in the cave.

She looked up as a shadow fell over her, Scamp stood by her, his amber eyes warm. "Hey, Rainstone," he mewed shyly, his eyes glancing around, to make sure no cat was watching. "Look, I want to talk to you alone, could you meet me outside the cave tonight? Just tell Night you're going to make your dirt," he whispered.

Rainstone's heart sped up at the thought of breaking the rules and she gave a small nod, a purr rising in her throat as she stared after him, wide-eyed like a silly fawn.

"Rainstone?" she jumped, her fur fluffed out as she spun around to stare at Night. "Are you okay?" he asked, looking at her curiously, though there was sheen over his eyes that made her fur tingle in apprehension.

"Uh, yes," she mewed awkwardly, feeling a wave of guilt for her feelings and agreements, but she felt no regret.

"Good, cause we're going out for awhile," Night mewed, his voice low and tinged with meaning. It sent ice down her spine.

She followed him out behind the ivy curtain, pausing at his shoulder, she had almost caught up to him, her eye level at his shoulder so she could look over him. The sun was just waving goodnight, its last tip disappearing behind the mountain.

Her fur prickled, most cats didn't go out so late, what did he want to do? She was even more perturbed when he led her _up_ the slope heading for the top of the mountain ridge that the cave was built into, not leading her down to the valley like usual.

The slope was stepper above the cave then below and she had to strain all her muscles to get to the top. She rolled on her back, panting, as the ground flattened out, a narrow ridge of brown grass like the spine of a giant cat.

She stood up, the ridge was about three tail-lengths wide and there was nothing up here. "So, what now?" she asked. _I hope he didn't drag me up here just to show me the view!_ Though she had to admit, the view of the valley wasn't half bad, though it couldn't compare with the top of the mountains.

"Over here," Night mewed, flicking his tail and looking down at something. Rainstone bounded over to him, skidding to a halt as she saw that the ground fell down suddenly to a steep sided grassy hollow that was full of wildflowers.

"What is this place?" she asked, sniffing the air, there was cat scent, but it was a little stale.

"Its one of the places some cat come to mate," Night mewed, his muscles tensing.

"What?" Rainstone could hardly believe her ears. "You promised!" she gasped, as he pushed her into the hollow, she looked up at him as she landed gracefully on her paws, crushing flowers and the aroma became stronger, thought she could hardly register the heavy scent. "You can't do this!" she hissed.

"Yes I can, I'm sorry Rainstone, but the promise is close enough to complete, and Scamp is right, the Fighters need new kits, its our duty," Night mewed, leaping down beside her, she pressed her back against the other side of the hollow.

"I won't let you! I'm too young to mate!" she hissed.

"Give it up! You're a she-cat! This is one of the few jobs she-cat's exist for!" Night hissed, his eyes angry. "Now shut up and let me do it!" Night hissed. He swatted her with his massive paw, Rainstone, unable to dodge, fell to the ground on her belly and Night leapt on her, she didn't care to remember anything else.

**…**

Rainstone stumbled down the slope, she felt dazed and weak and confused. The dull anger that throbbed through her had no place to go, since she was too shocked to yowl hatred at Night as he led her down. All the friendly feelings she'd grown for him, had disappeared, replaced by cold disappointment and hot resentment.

_ I thought he was good enough to keep his promise. Well if he is going to break his promise, then I'm going to continue breaking mine!_ That was the one clear thought she got as she stumbled down the steep slope.

Whatever the physical pleasure she'd felt, emotionally, it had been murder. Her sanity had practically been executed by that, and now she felt as if she could never trust Night on anything ever again.

She didn't speak a word though as they padded to their nest, though she stretched herself out uncomfortably, keeping herself from being touched by Night. She wasn't going to complain, she wasn't going to yowl or hiss, she'd just let him know very clearly that she no longer cared for him at all.

She could almost feel his regret and sadness as he sighed and stared at her back, letting her silently fume by herself. She closed her eyes as the night wore out, listening for paw-steps to signal that it was time to meet Scamp. She wanted to meet him even more now, and a part of her wanted Night to know, so that he would be hurt more then just by her silence.

Eventually, near moon-high, she heard the small scuffle of paws above the rough snoring of the Fighters and their mates. Carefully, without a glance at Night, she got to her paws and padded silently to the entrance, as if she was stalking prey, she didn't see the amber eyes watching her leave with longing.

She glanced around at the entrance, her ears pricked as she saw Scamp's tail disappear behind the ivy curtain. Excitement momentarily washing away her tight misery, she stalked after him quietly, tiptoeing through the cave until she made it out.

She saw the silver world, the stars, the lights, the majesty, and Scamp in a single glance. While marveling at the silver light, she followed Scamp to the side, so that they were out of view of the cave. She blinked as he pushed through a thick wall or prickly sagebrush, did he want her to get her pelt fur of prickles?

But she followed him, and stared as she saw that it opened to a sloped grassy clearing surrounded by steep rocks on one side and tall sagebrush on the other. "Wow! Its like a little private clearing!" she mewed softly, looking at how to moonlight touched the sagebrush, illuminating the ghostly white stems.

She turned back to Scamp, her eyes wide in amazement. "Its so beautiful," she whispered.

Scamp purred and nodded, "Rainstone, I know that you must be wondering why I asked you here…" he trailed off and Rainstone nodded, encouraging him to continue. "Well, its because I like you, your attitude, your defiance, your impatience, your voice, your everything!" Scamp burst out, avoiding her eyes and clawing the grass with his claws. "I just wanted to know!" he sighed.

"Know what?" Rainstone whispered, sidling up to him and staring at him closely.

"I want to know _you_, the real you, not the act you put on," he hesitated, "Do you want to know me too?" Scamp asked, holding her gaze steadily, though his eyes were begging. "I know there are problems, but we could make it work," he insisted as she hesitated.

Rainstone thought for a moment, did she want to know Scamp? Did she want to know his desires? His dreams? Share his emotions? Care for him more then any other cat, even Night? She knew the answer, her wondering all day and then Night's broken promise at the end of the day had confirmed it.

Looking at him in the eyes she moved so closely that his breath ruffled her whiskers. "Yes, I do."

**...**

**Blah blah blah, loves in the air, we all get the gist of it. ah-hem, before you tell me that Scamp and Rainstone is totally out of the blue and cliche, they only agreed to get to know each other better, nothing more. And before you tell me that I'm evil for making Night seem legit and then making him terrible, well he's still better then most other toms! Why am I giving you reasons for my decisions? I don't know, just felt like it. Music from people who once lived in the Soviet Union is so depressing...**

**So, I don't know when I'll get the next chapter up, though I'll probably write it all out today and not get to it again for three days. Please Review!**


	10. Chapter 9: Leaning Over The Edge

**Hey! please enjoy the chapter!**

**REVIEWS**

**"pianodevotion"- Thanks! I really do love adding twists in stories**

**"Crowstar54"- Yep! crushing your hope is part of my job as an author!**

**"SwiftStar of ThunderClan"- Thank you!**

**Dawnfeather- Yeah, I like Scamp too, which is kind of a good thing!**

**Flowerheart21- I know, I really should! **

**"Silverblaze72"- Thanks! I love twists and turns, they keep it interesting ;)**

**Mouseydrgonwolf- Thanks! and I know, right? nothing can be perfect in a story... nothing (echo effect)**

**"CrystalStar Of LightClan"- Okay! we'll see her later, but she'll have a pretty large roll as long as she's in. **

**"ShadowQues2000t"- Strep throat is awful... I've never gotten it, but my sister had it. I hope you get better soon and you enjoy the chapters when you get to read them!**

**Chapter 9: Leaning Over The Edge**

"What? No way! I don't believe you! There is no way you took an eagle down all by yourself!" Rainstone exclaimed disbelievingly, shoving Scamp with a paw. She was laying on her back, the frosty night air burned her lungs, but the silver air and the warmth of Scamp kept her from feeling its chill.

"Its true!" Scamp defended himself, his amber eyes laughing, turning his head toward her, he was on his back as well.

"Then why did I never see this eagle?" Rainstone asked, narrowing her eyes, feeling as if she'd trapped him.

"You were still in the kit-den at the time! How you didn't hear about it is beyond me!" Scamp laughed.

Rainstone puffed out a breath, making her whiskers tremble, there was no proof she had against that claim. "If only I could ask Night, then I could prove you wrong," she muttered, swiping a paw at his ear playfully.

Scamp laughed, rolling on top of her, pushing the breath out of her. "Get off of me you lump!" Rainstone protested, laughing, the sound ringing through the clear night air.

Scamp moved around so that his eyes stared into hers, the happiness she felt was reflected in his eyes and she could never remember feeling so at ease. She'd been meeting him for nearly a moon in the private clearing and they met as long as the sky was clear.

She shivered as a cold breeze rushed around her, rattling the sagebrush. The only thing she wished was different was that Scamp was a Fighter, then he could teach her more. Pepper had left with Whisper on his final assessment a quarter moon prior, so she was always bored during the day.

Scamp was her one life saver, somehow always making her forget her worries at night, all her problems floated away on his laugh and rather exaggerated stories.

"So, did you have any adventures on your assessment?" Scamp asked, laying on his belly with his forepaws folded in front of him and his head propped on them, his amber eyes watching her.

Rainstone twitched her ear, "No… not really," she mewed, none of her experiences seemed to compare to his 'adventures.'

"What about when you came back when your paw wrapped in comfrey? What was that about?" Scamp pushed.

"Well, there was a little fight with a few rouges, but we are alive so its all good," Rainstone mewed, not remembering the fight as anything but an embarrassment.

Scamp sighed, "You have a very dull prospective," he complained.

Rainstone swatted at his ears, cuffing them and he laughed. "Though your temper is hotter then fire!" Scamp laughed, it rang louder then the cry of an eagle and echoed in her ears louder then the rumble of thunder.

They continued talking, but Rainstone must have eventually fallen asleep, for Scamp was shaking her awake as the silver light faded to be replaced by the dull gray light before dawn. "Time to go back to the cave," Scamp whispered.

Rainstone nodded, feeling clean and refreshed after the rest. She stood up and quickly groomed her fur, washing out Scamp's strong scent and smoothing the sleep ruffled fur. Then she sighed and gently touched Scamp's nose, it was silky and cold while sparking her heart, it was exactly like how she thought the stars would feel like.

She heaved a huge sigh, pushing out of the sage brush and carefully climbing into the cave, slinking silently back to the Fighter's den and curling into her nest with Night, just barely letting his fur brush hers.

After he'd mated with her, she'd hardly spoken to him, never purred to him, except when he greeted her and other toms were in ear-shot. He'd mated her several times since she turned eight moons, about a quarter moon ago, almost every other day at least, but still she wasn't expecting kits.

Some cats whispered that she was unable to have kits, she hoped that was the case. To her, mating had turned into something she did to get over with it, she didn't dwell on it, she didn't think about it, and she didn't respond to it.

She could hear the other cats getting up around her, their she-cats' grooming them and purring softly, the hum that was soaked with forcedness made her sick and when Night lifted his head, she brushed his fur down with her tail, refusing to groom him.

He nodded at her, his eyes were sad and weary. She watched him leave and padded after him, waiting for him to grab her breakfast. He got her a mouse, which she ate as he left to ensure the borders of the valley.

After that, she groomed her fur, ignoring the cat-calls from practically every tom who walked by. She glanced up as a shadow stayed in front of her. It was Hawk.

"Father," she mewed curtly.

"Rainstone, why don't we go on a walk," Hawk mewed politely, his blue eyes unreadable.

Rainstone shrugged, "Sure, I need some more marigold," she muttered. Hawk's claws grazed her ears, but she was so used to it that she hardly felt it.

"A simple 'yes,' is all that is needed," Hawk mewed shortly, his calm mew sounded forced.

Rainstone shrugged and stood up, now that she was almost full grown, her chin was at his shoulder and he led her out of the cave. The air was colder then usual, and the sun was hidden behind thick clouds that must have appeared with dawn.

"There will be snow before long," Hawk mewed, his eyes narrowing in worry.

Rainstone wanted to ask what snow was, but she'd probably just get claws as an answer. She broke off from the trail to grab several stalks of marigold. "What did you want to talk to me about?" she mumbled around the plants.

"I wanted to ask you, on behalf of Night, why you feel so against him," Hawk mewed.

Rainstone's fur bristled, "Tell him to ask me himself," she snapped back, dropping her herbs.

Hawk glared at her, "You will not answer a tom like that," he growled.

Rainstone lashed her tail, "I'll answer you however I want to!" she spat, glaring at him, feeling all her worry and anger churn in her belly, just waiting to finally explode as she fumed it out.

"Answer my question!" Hawk hissed, crouching down in the hunting crouch Pepper had shown her.

"If you must know, its because he broke a promise to me!" She spat, the sense of betrayal and resentment pricked at her claws.

"Night does not have to keep his promises to you," Hawk pointed out, straightening up, obviously making an effort to calm down.

"Why not!" Rainstone burst out, anger bubbled at her lips. "Because I'm a she-cat?" she scoffed.

"Yes!" Hawk spat, "Night knows his place, and you should know yours by now! But instead, you keep leaning over the edge, and you need to stop or else you will end up falling and never recovering!" Hawk spat.

Rainstone felt coldness replace her anger and she glared at him, an ice-eyed look that made Hawk realize he'd done nothing but push his daughter further away. She picked up her marigold and angled her ears toward the cave, Hawk had nothing to do but lead her back, and she turned to the herb den without even another glance back at him.

She blinked back crystal tears as she turned her face away from her father, a hole appearing where her family should have been in her mind. She'd never felt so alone, with Pepper gone, her anger toward Night, her resentment toward Droplet, and her coldness toward Hawk, she felt completely alone.

She put her herbs away, sniffling quietly and listening to Grass and Red gossip over Storm's kits. "They'll be Trainees soon, I wonder if I'll train one of them," Grass was mewing, the pale gray she-cat's fur twitched and her bright green eyes shone.

"Maybe, you haven't trained a cat yet, hey Rainstone, maybe you'll get the other!" Red called, the mottled red she-cat's white paws were carefully separating herbs, her blue eyes never leaving her work.

Rainstone gave a noncommittal grunt, not wanting to get drawn into the conversation. "Rainstone, do you know if Boulder is back yet?" Red asked.

"Why would I know where your mate is?" Rainstone grumbled, but she padded to the entrance anyways and looked out the entrance, seeing Boulder and Fox talking near the ivy curtain. "He's back," she reported, Red coming to her shoulder and nodding in thanks as she trotted over to Boulder.

Rainstone turned back to her marigold stalks, stripping the leaves carefully off the stems. "Rainstone, the other day I was talking to Droplet, and she said you haven't talked to her since you left the kit-den, is that true? That was almost six moons ago," Grass mewed.

_ Why are you still here?_ Rainstone wondered, the gray she-cat was just messing around with some soiled herbs. "Isn't Tuft looking for you?" Rainstone asked, distracting the she-cat for a moment by asking her about her mate.

Grass shook her head, "He's out hunting, he won't be back until just after sun-high," Grass answered, turning to look at her with her head tilted to the side. "Can't you answer my question?"

"Nope," Rainstone mewed, putting her herbs away and trotting out of the den, sending an annoyed Grass a smirk as she trotted by.

She headed for the ivy curtain and stretched out on the smooth stone. She had nothing to do, so she might as well take a quick nap and catch up on some of the sleep she lost during the night, and she quickly fell asleep in the slanted sunlight.

Rainstone dreamt. She stood in murky gray light, mist rolling around her paws, though there was no breeze. She pricked her ears to try to hear the only sound in the gloominess, _du_ _thump, du thump, du thump._

It sounded like a heartbeat, it grew louder, and louder, until she could hardly stand it. Then it faded into silence and she stared around, wondering what had just happened, she hadn't had these kind of dreams since she'd returned from the assessment, and this one was more confusing then the others.

Then there was a flicker of white light that drew her attention toward her left side. A cat, the black cat with amber eyes, padded toward her, illuminated by the white light. Although, however much the she-cat padded forward, she seemed to get no closer.

"What! What do you want?!" Rainstone called desperately, but the moment she took a step forward, the light began fading back into the gray light. She shivered as a breeze of ice blew into her fur, slicing her fur apart.

She wailed, feeling miserable and confused. _"Do not fear,"_ a voice murmured softly in her ear. _"The cold will help you, you must watch and wait before leaning over the edge,"_ the voice continued, the same ancient murmur.

"Where are you? Can't you tell me who you are?" Rainstone asked, staring around the dull light, her eyes narrowed against the breeze.

_ "You will find me in your ancestors,"_ the voice murmured, fading to a breath.

"But I don't know what ancestors are!" Rainstone protested, taking a step forward, though she couldn't see anything.

"_Then I will show you."_ Then, in a flash of blinding light, the gray misty world was swept away and she was standing, or more levitating, in a black sky, stars appearing one after another, her eyes focusing on each star as it appeared, wonder filling her, her mind reaching to grasp what she was being shown.

_ Ancestors and stars, they are connected._ She blinked, her mind aching as she struggled to grasp what seemed so evident, yet so out of reach. Like a bird that flutters just out of reach at the last moment, the hunter falling back with only feathers to remind them of the bird.

Then she felt something grab her shoulder and she whirled around, her eyes wide with shock as she stared into Scamp's bright amber eyes, his purr vibrating through her mind. The sound filled her and vibrated in her bones and she felt herself melting into his warmth and protective watch.

Then she blinked open her eyes, and instead of Scamp's bright amber eyes, she was looking into Night's orange-amber ones. She sat up, after being so cold in her dream, heat rushed through her and she felt groggy and the chilly breeze that ruffled her fur from under the ivy curtain made her shiver.

"What?" She muttered quietly, touching his nose quickly as she saw Ice watching her with Stick by his paws.

"There's about to be a ceremony, Frost and Sandy are becoming Trainees," Night mewed gruffly, avoiding her eyes. Rainstone shrugged and shook out her fur, following him over to the side of the cave, Night on one side, and Scamp somehow ending up on her other, Squirrel on the side opposite of her.

Scamp, while settling down, 'accidentally' brushed against her fur and sat close enough for his tail to entwine with hers, the darkness hiding the gesture. _Watch and wait before leaning over the edge,_ that's what she'd heard in her dream, Hawk had said almost the same thing to her earlier as well, was she being warned about Scamp? Or her learning how to hunt and fight? Or her resentment toward Night?

She sighed, when had she broken so many rules? _When Night broke his promise,_ her mind said stubbornly, though her memory wasn't so bad that she'd forgotten that she had first broken the promise, then Night.

But now she was watching Frost, the small silver she-kit with white tabby stripes and glowing blue eyes. Tangle padded forward, sweeping his tail over the kit's shoulder's possessively. To Rainstone, she thought the kit looked frightened, and took comfort from Tangle's comforting tail.

Then Sandy padded forward, looking more confident then her sister, the pale ginger she-cat had faint stripes that gleamed in the dusk light that peeped in from under the ivy curtain and the small hole that served as the cave's entrance.

Though, Rainstone saw irritableness in her orange eyes, already the defeated look, that so many she-cats hid, had appeared in the four moon old kit's eyes. _Why did they get to wait till four moon when I was two moons?_ She twitched her ears in annoyance.

She listened to see if she was given one of them as a Trainee, but she knew it was unlikely, even though she was a Hunter from birth, she'd been given a Fighter mate, so she'd probably only be given Fighter she-cat Trainees. And as expected, they were given Hunter she-cats. Frost had Twist, and Sandy had Squirrel.

After that, Rainstone pressed against Night, allowing him to guide her through the boisterous toms who, as always, took this as a chance to josh, flirt, and mess around in 'celebration.' Night, unfortunately, wanted to mess around, and she had to fake a silly little kitty act as she was surrounded by Pebble, Trip, and Sleet. Each trying to brush against her fur, lick her ears, and entwine his tail with hers.

Night was flirting with Tinge, the small she-cat was cornered by him and Snake. Rainstone felt a surge of anger as Night curled his body around Tinge. _How dare he act like that?! Can't he see he's sickening her?_

Ignoring the toms, she pushed her way through them commandingly, and they watched her, mouths agape at her attitude. She stamped her paw and Night turned to face her as she stood with her tail lashing. "Leave Tinge alone, Night," she growled.

Night pressed against Tinge harder, making the she-cat whimper. "No," he answered shortly. His eyes half glazed.

Rainstone lashed her tail, Night was in a mood, letting himself get caught up in the immorality of the celebration. _I know I said I wouldn't do it again, but I need to do it now,_ waggling her shoulders and waving her curled tail, she sidled up to Night and wrapped her tail around his neck.

"But then how will we mate tonight, if you're with another she-cat," Rainstone murmured, it was a question, but she said it more like a statement.

Night's eyes sparked, the amber eyes were unfocused and Rainstone knew he wasn't thinking straight. She moved forward, letting her tail unwrap itself and flick his muzzle as she looked over her shoulder with an innocently suggestive look, if such a thing was possible.

Night jumped after her, leading her through the cats and out of the cave. With the first blast of cold air, Rainstone fluffed up her fur and Night blinked, looking a little more normal, but he still started padding up the slope to their spot.

_ No! I'm not mating tonight!_ She leaped forward and cuffed Night's ears, he jumped and looked back at her, his fur fluffed up. "Get a grip!" she hissed, glaring at him.

Night blinked, his eyes surprised and confused. "What?" he mumbled.

"Stop acting like every other tom! You're better then them!" Rainstone hissed, suddenly realizing how, even though she hated him, she trusted him to act better then every tom else, except maybe Scamp.

Night's eyes looked ashamed for a moment, then they flared with anger. "Why do I always have to be better then every other cat, but you can go around breaking the rules like nothing?!" Night hissed.

Rainstone fluffed up her fur, ready to shoot back a retort, but he swept on. "Don't lie, I know you go out at night to watch the moon, you're not supposed to leave the cave without a tom!" Night hissed.

Rainstone's first reaction was relief, he didn't know she was meeting Scamp, but then she was angry again. "There's nothing wrong with what I'm doing!" she hissed, her dark eyes snapping with frustration. "It's not fair!"

Night, although usually sympathetic about that, just looked annoyed. "That's your problem! You think everything is unfair for _you_, you never stopped to think about _my_ problems, did you? As the next leader, there's so much more I have to learn, I have to deal with rebellious cats who might try to kill me or my father, and then after a long day, I want to have a little fun and then you just get in the way! Well, no more!" Nigh hissed, crouching.

Rainstone flattened her ears, "What do you mea-" she broke off as he lunged for her. She unsheathed her claws and swiped at him, catching his ear, and felt a spurt of savage joy to feel the skin tear beneath her claws.

But then Night was on her and the joy was gone, his claws were digging into her shoulders and churning her soft belly as he forced her onto her back. Blood, warm and sticky, soaked out and into her fur as she cried in pain.

She vainly tried to claws his shoulders and push him off with her hind paws. But he was bigger and stronger and her claws seemed to do little damage, while the slope of the hill worked against her and she could hardly budge him at all.

She began to feel dizzy, colors flashing in spots at the edge of her vision, the sharp pain dulling to just a rolling wave of sensations that included hot and cold, sharp and dizzy, and the dull nagging of pain that pulled at her skin and didn't slow.

Eventually, cold overcame the hot, sharpness overcame the dizziness, and the pain became stinging instead of nagging. She managed to see Night, standing over her, the glaze that had been over his eyes had disappeared.

She vaguely noticed his black fur was splattered red, _when did he grow red fur?_ Her confused mind wondered. Her breath came in short gasps and Night was trembling so much that she wondered if he'd forgotten how to stand. Her mind like a cat underwater, unable to think clearly and moving slowly.

'What's wrong with you?" she breathed, her voice, slurred and distant, seemed to freeze Night's trembling.

"What have I done?" Night cried, his eyes glazing again, this time with pain and guilt. Then he fell on her, licking her frantically, though she barely felt him, her tired eyes had fixed on something else, a black shadowy figure with amber eyes.

_ I can't be dying yet, can I?_ Somehow she knew that the black cat would come for her when she died, but that couldn't be now, could it?

She breathed a sigh of relief as the black cat shook its head slowly, "_You will not die tonight, your place is not yet ready."_ The black cat stepped closer to her and started touching her gently with its nose, wherever the cat touched, the tight pain fell away and she began feeling stronger.

Finally, the black cat stepped back and nodded her head, disappearing in wisps in a gust of wind. Rainstone sat up, Night staring at her in shock. "But how?" Night whispered, his eyes skimming over her pelt.

Rainstone looked down, although blood still covered her pelt, _her_ blood, she couldn't find a single open cut, just a lot of new scabs and scars. "I guess some cat still wants me alive," she murmured, turning toward Night, he was staring at her, perturbed, relived, and a little fearful.

"H-how did you do that?" Night stuttered.

Rainstone blinked, "I didn't do anything, we aren't the only ones who call this our home," she murmured. Night looked confused, but he must have realized that she, herself, didn't really know what just happened.

"Come on, lets stop leaning over this edge and go home," Night mewed, Rainstone shivered as he quoted the words she'd heard in her dream. _He may stop leaning over the edge, but I won't. Not now, not ever._

**...**

**Hmm... I wrote that all without any planning, but I still liked it! hope you guys did as well. I know it was a bit of a filler chapter, but I hope it was still intriguing enough for you anyways!**

**Please Review!**


	11. Chapter 10: Silence For Silence

**Hello! **

**REVIEWS**

**"Wanderstar"- Agreed.**

**"Crowstar54"- Well, I'm glad you enjoyed it!**

**"Leviathan48"- Interesting challenge, I'll try it sometime, maybe. Got think up a new story for it though... give me a few days.**

**"Silverwind of Forestclan"- Yep, he realized he'd gone too far with his frustrations and realized he was wrong. Its refreshing.**

**Flowerheart22- Well, not at this moment anyway.**

**"silverblaze72"- Yeah, I'd feel sorry for her too, if she was real and I wasn't the one making all the bad things happen. **

**"Anova00"- Thanks!**

**"Jazzberry. Redstar"- Yeah, why is that? And I like the name Night a lot... And if you don't like the Rain&Scamp, then you might like this chapter...**

**"Blizzard of the Caverns"- Thanks! and yeah, _very_ future rebellion... This is going to be a three story thing.**

**Mouseydragonwolf- Thanks!**

**Dawnfeather- Thanks! Every cat would have their moments living in such a low morale and depressive life. **

**Chapter 10: Silence For Silence**

Rainstone licked her paw, drawing it over her muzzle and washing off a bit of blood from the scratch that she'd gotten, courtesy of Snake. Who thought it was too rude of her to walk past him without acknowledging him.

It was about half a moon since Night had almost killed her and the shadowy black cat had cured her, turning all her wounds into scars. Neither of them had mentioned it, though a few cats had asked about the new scars on her shoulders, luckily, most of the scars were on her belly, which was mostly hidden from view.

Pepper and Whisper had returned, and then Cliff had left on his assessment, he was due back any day now. The only other change in life in the cave was that Nightly, a hunter, and one of Pepper's former trainers, had died. It was almost certain how he'd died, since his body was found at the base of a cliff-like slope where a faint trail had crumbled away and he'd had a young hawk in his jaws.

Obviously, he'd chased the hawk up the trail and then the ground had crumbled and he'd fallen and died. He hadn't had a mate, so there had been no fights over that, but one question came to Rainstone's mind at the incident. Why had the black cat saved her, but not Nightly?

She didn't know an answer, all her dreams since then had just been of stars and the word ancestor echoing through her mind, she felt like she should understand it, but she didn't. What did stars, tiny specks of light in the night sky, have to do with ancestors? Whatever ancestors were.

She sighed and shook out her fur, Night had acted better toward her since he'd attacked her. He had mated with her only once since then, and he spoke more kindly toward her. In turn, Rainstone tried to be more understanding toward him, but it was hard when Scamp was always in the back of her mind.

She stretched, Night was gone at the moment, and she'd arranged for Pepper to take her out to 'collect herbs.' Really, he was going to train her, show her a few of the more complex hunting techniques that'd he'd learned just before he'd left on his assessment and he hadn't been able to show her yet, as they'd spent the time since he'd returned in refreshing both their memories.

Rainstone hoped he'd allow them to spar, as that was the only way for them to train in fighting. She swiped the last bit of blood of her muzzle and trotted over to Pepper who was padding away from Whisper. "Are you ready to go?" Pepper asked, his blue eyes glittering with nervous anticipation.

Rainstone nodded, skipping next to him out of the cave. She bounced in the direction of the dirt clearing. Enjoying the whistle of the icy cold air in her ears and the flash of the brown, dry grass beneath her paws.

She jumped down, panting and feeling exhilarated. Pepper appeared a moment later and she waited for him to catch his breath impatiently. When he finally had, he showed her the moves, she followed them with accurate intensity and after a few tries had it perfect and trained into her muscles.

"Can we spar for a bit?" Rainstone mewed, looking at the gray clouds that hung in the sky, hiding the sun and keeping the bare mountain cold.

Pepper sighed, he didn't like sparring very much since he always lost. "Okay, but we've got to be back soon or some cat will wonder where we are, and you still need to get your herbs," Pepper mewed.

Rainstone nodded enthusiastically, her whiskers twitching as she faced Pepper, her eyes narrowed with mischief. She knew him too well. When he lunged for her, like he would with prey, she easily bounced over his paws, not letting him trip her.

When her paws touched the ground, she whirled around and kicked out with her back paws, sending Pepper, who'd been turning toward her, reeling away. She darted in and landed a few blows, although her claws were sheathed, the blows were hard and accurate, stinging her brother's muzzle and he cowered under her.

Then he twisted away and sprang at her side, sending her flying from his larger weight and she hit the sandy steps, he was always careful to hit her away from the chasm on the other side. Pepper darted toward her, his black and white paws flashing on the brown ground.

Rainstone forced her mind to turn and she darted toward him, sliding under his belly and pushing her paws at his front paws and he fell flat on his face, unable to protect his exposed back and Rainstone jumped on his back, pinning him with her wide paws. That was a trait characteristic in the cats in the mountain, they had wide paws that were good for gripping the craggily ground.

"I win!" she crowed jubilantly, a little louder then intended, and she raised her head triumphantly. Then she froze, every vein turning to ice and horror pulsing through her. There, on the rim of the dirt clearing, his paws hanging a little over the edge, stood a wide eyed Scamp, holding a mouse and shrew in his jaws.

Pepper followed her frozen gaze and tensed beneath her. Scamp stood there, bright amber eyes wide with shock and fur bristling. He stumbled away, looking dazed and scared, then his paw-steps became faster as he ran away.

Rainstone jumped off of Pepper and raced after him, fear pulsing through her paws. Was her friendship with Scamp strong enough to stand against this? Strong enough to make him lie to his leader about a cat he was just friends with?

She caught up to him, stumbling in the bushes where a lot of her herbs grew. "Scamp" she panted, darting after him, her paws skidding as she jumped past him and spun around in mid-air to land facing him from the front.

Scamp stared at her, his bright amber eyes tumbled with so many emotions that she couldn't hardly name them, though she got the feeling of fear and horror. "Rainstone!" Scamp wailed, sitting down heavily and letting his prey fall. "You're going to get yourself killed!" Scamp cried, his eyes showed grief.

Rainstone's heart stopped. "You weren't going to tell, were you?" she whispered, looking up at the tall, lanky tom.

Scamp looked at her as if she was crazy, "No, I wouldn't be the one to sentence you to death, but other cats won't have a problem!" Scamp mewed, staring at her desperately.

Rainstone heaved a deep breath, "Just stay silent about it, and no other cat will know!" she mewed beseechingly, staring up at him pleadingly. She wasn't asking it of him from a pretty she-cat to a powerful tom, she was asking as a part of their friendship that may have evolved into something more.

Scamp sighed, "Its against the rules, by doing this I put Squirrel in danger!" Scamp mumbled. Rainstone remembered that occasionally, a leader might kill the mate of the tom in punishment for breaking the rules.

Rainstone twitched her ears "No cat will find out," she soothed.

Scamp's eyes sparked, "_I_ found out, if it can happened once, it can happen again! Does Night know?" Scamp demanded.

Rainstone sighed and shook her head. Scamp stared at her, his bright amber eyes were thinking unreadable thoughts. "Look, Rainstone," Scamp murmured, suddenly looking somber. "I'll stay silent about it as long as you-" He broke off as Pepper broke through to them.

"Scamp!" he gasped. "Please don't tell! Look, I'll be leader before long, and then the secret will be secured!" Pepper burst out, his claws kneading the ground anxiously as he stared at Scamp pleadingly.

Scamp touched the smaller tom's shoulder with his tail-tip. "Don't worry, I'll keep the secret," Scamp mewed. Pepper sighed in relief, though he still looked nervous.

"Come on, Rainstone, lets find you some herbs," Pepper mewed, looking anxious to leave Scamp, maybe before he changed his mind.

Rainstone waved her tail at him to show she'd heard, but she was still staring at Scamp. "You'll stay silent if I what?" she asked, wondering what he wanted her to do.

Scamp shrugged and nodded after Pepper, "You'd better go, I'll tell you later," Scamp mewed, grabbing his prey and heading in the direction of the cave. Rainstone looked after him and sighed, turning after Pepper as he once again called for her.

_ I wonder what he wants from me…_

** …**

A while later, Rainstone was padding into the cave behind Pepper and a bunch of herbs in her jaws, because snow was expected soon, she was stocking up on everything she probably wouldn't need. Shaking her head impatiently, she pressed her cold nose to Pepper's cheek in goodbye and padded to the herb den.

She was met by a nervous and excited looking Whisper. "Oh! Rainstone! I was looking for you," Whisper giggled.

Rainstone's ears twitched, _giggled?_ No, Whisper didn't giggle, not with nervousness, embarrassment, happiness, nothing. She always acted like she understood everything that was happening.

"Come in!" Whisper giggled again, curling her tail over her shoulders and pulling her into the herb den.

"Just wait a moment," Rainstone mumbled around the herbs in her mouth, then spat them all out, spluttering and coughing as she breathed in a leaf. Grumbling, she gathered them back together as Whisper shifted on her paws.

Then Whisper let out a chirp of joy and skipped around the herb-den, Rainstone was glad no other cat was in the den at the moment and couldn't see her erratic friend and say she was crazy. Dropping the leaves back by the pool, near her store, she turned to her friend who had settled down enough to sit. Though her eyes shone and her purr vibrated her slender body.

"What is it? Any cat would think you've gone insane," Rainstone muttered, brushing a herb leaf off her shoulder with her paw.

"I'm expecting kits!" Whisper burst out, her purr somehow growing louder.

_ That's it, she's gone mad! What kind of cat would be even remotely happy to bring a cat into this life?_ She glanced at Whisper, looking as if she'd never been happier, and she sighed. _I guess I've got my answer._

"That's fantastic," Rainstone muttered.

"They're due in just over a moon," Whisper purred as if she hadn't heard the sarcastic edge in Rainstone's voice. The new queen licked her belly, which did indeed look slightly rounder then usual.

"Does Pepper know?" Rainstone asked. The kits would be her kin.

Whisper hesitated, "No, I'm planning on telling him tonight," the dark gray flecked she-cat mewed, her green eyes resting on her gently.

"Maybe you'll have kits soon as well?" Whisper suggested gently, knowing she was touchy on the subject.

Rainstone bristled. "You may be happy to have kits, but I never want to have one!" she hissed angrily. Whisper blinked, looking slightly taken back by her anger.

But Rainstone wasn't about to apologize, with a curt nod at Whisper, she set to organizing her herbs in their place. She heard Whisper sigh and felt her warm breath ruffle her ear fur before her paws steps echoed and fell away.

Rainstone screwed her eyes up tight, she couldn't even picture herself with kits! She was hardly more then a kit herself! Not even fully grown yet! She was only nine moons old, she wouldn't be full grown for awhile yet, possibly up too three more moons.

She shivered as the cold draft of the cave ran over her. In the warm season, it'd been welcome, but now it was getting a little too cold for even her. She quickly set her herbs back in place and started padding out of the cave.

She halted as a shriek ripped through the air. _For goodness sakes! What now?_ She bristled with irritation and looked toward the ruckus. Worry pricked her as she scented the heavy stench of blood and Night.

She trotted toward him briskly, he and Pebble were surrounded by all the other cats, their fur bloody and torn ragged. She wanted to demand what happened, but her job at the moment was to take care of Night's wounds. _I guess I will finally use some of my dusty old herbs._

She slipped to his side, looking steadily into his tired gaze. "Alright!" the powerful mew belonging to Crag made the cats part and her jump slightly. "Leaf! Come help Pebble!" Crag barked for his mate and Leaf padded softly over to them, her white dappled fur gleaming in the gray light.

As the leader's mate, she was responsible in her medicine duties for all the toms who didn't have mates, and for kitting queens on the Fighter's side. Pebble didn't have a mate.

"Every cat give them space and be quiet!" Crag ordered, glaring at the cats around him. As he swung his head around, Rainstone noticed silver hairs on his muzzle. He was old.

Rainstone gave Night her shoulder and helped him stumble over to the herb-den, laying him down on the clean dirt floor near the pool of water. She sat him up against the rock wall, and started licking at his wounds, assessing his injuries.

He had several long scratches along the flank and one across the muzzle that was still bleeding. Then his back leg was slashed and half-way down his tail there was a mangled bloody mess that she didn't even want to start on.

She licked at the slash on his leg, it was the worst, and then placed a poultice of marigold on it and bound it with cobwebs. Then turning to his scratches on his flanks, she decided they didn't need cobwebs, since they weren't bleeding any more and would probably be good with some tormentil root.

Chewing the root, she placed the poultice on the scratches, smearing it into the wounds. Night flinched and Rainstone shrugged, she didn't know how much it hurt, so she pretended that it didn't hurt much and Night was being a wuss.

Night seemed to be more alert, as if the sting of the herbs in the wounds and her gentle lapping was waking him up. He stirred beneath her paws, "How bad is it?" he mumbled, his words sounding disoriented.

Rainstone twitched her ear and glanced at his mouth, blood was seeping out of his mouth. "Did you bite your tongue?" she asked, frowning.

Night nodded slowly, his amber eyes glittering with slight confusion. "I don't remember doing that though," he grumbled. Rainstone shrugged, she didn't know what to do to help the bitten tongue, it'd heal on its own.

"So what happened?" Rainstone asked, licking her paws and swiping it over his muzzle, cleaning off the blood.

Night shifted his paws, "Me and Pebble got in an argument by the border and fell behind every other cat, then we were attacked by those same three cats that ambushed us at the base of the third mountain," Night muttered, too low for Leaf and Pebble to hear.

"Something's going to have to be done about them if they keep that up," Rainstone commented, wiping some marigold into the scratch.

Night flinched and screwed his eyes, whether it was from the stinging, or the strong scent of the marigold by his eyes, she couldn't tell. Then she started working on his tail, once clean, it wasn't as bad as she'd thought, it was just a bite and she wrapped it with horsetail and cobwebs.

Once she was done, Night and Pebble left to report to Crag, and she swept up the unused scraps of herbs and put the useable herbs away. Leaf had already finished and left before she was done.

Padding out, she realized it was already nighttime and her belly grumbled in complaint of missing dinner. She glanced around, most cats had gone to their nests, though Rainstone spotted Night sitting with an unfinished jay bird at his paws.

Rainstone trotted over to him. "Good, you can finish this, I'm going to sleep early," Night yawned. "I'll see you later," he mumbled, padding to his nest, his movements stiff from his fresh wounds.

Rainstone wolfed down the bird and licked her whiskers. Because it was cloudy, she wouldn't be going out to meet Scamp. Her tail swished impatiently, _what_ did he want from her in return for his silence?

She started heading for the fighter's den, but she halted as a tail touched her shoulder. Whirling around, she was unsurprised to find herself staring at Scamp. "Come on, we need to talk quickly," Scamp whispered.

Rainstone nodded, following him and stepping just outside the ivy curtain. She stopped and breathed in amazement, the moon was veiled, but just enough of its silver light shone through to show tens of thousands of tiny little specks of white floating down, like tiny bits of cloud falling softly and silently.

"What is it?" she breathed, her eyes focusing on one floating by her nose, she dabbed at it with a paw, and caught it. She blinked in surprise, it was cold! She breathed in excitement at the wonderful mystery, her breath sending a puff of frosted air out in front of her muzzle.

"Its snow," Scamp purred, his bright eyes glimmering with amusement, but there was a somber look in his eyes that worried her.

"Is everything all right?" She asked hesitantly.

Scamp sighed, his eyes filling with sadness. "Rainstone, I love you," Scamp murmured.

Rainstone's heart filled with joy, she knew it shouldn't, but it did. "I love you too," she murmured softly, stepping forward to touch her nose to his, gently caressing him. But Scamp stepped back after a moment.

"That's why I'm leaving," he mewed, his voice determined, even though it trembled with sadness.

Rainstone stared at him in shock, "What?! How can you leave us! How can you leave _me_?" she whispered.

Scamp shook his head, "This life… it isn't for me, I can't go on here, I can't watch you get hurt by my friends, can't stand to watch the unfairness," Scamp mewed quietly.

"So? I'm the one actually being mistreated!" She cried, though she knew Scamp well enough that he wouldn't go back on a decision like this.

"There's nothing I can do to stop it!" Scamp protested, "I want no part of this world, I have to find my own path, my own life, somewhere else," Scamp mewed, the spark of adventure appeared in his eyes. He was more excited then ever to leave.

"Then take me with you!" Rainstone begged, stepping at his paws and staring up at him beseechingly. Her eyes round with longing.

Scamp shook his head reluctantly, "Me disappearing will be suspicious enough, if I take the mate of the future leader, then they will hunt us down and probably kill Squirrel while they're at it. I have to go alone," Scamp mewed firmly.

Hot tears came to her cold eyes, "But what am I supposed to do without you?" she whispered, her life would be empty without him.

Scamp touched her ear gently, "I'll never forget you, but you'll be able to make your own life here, where I can't make my own life," Scamp mewed.

Rainstone began to feel angry, "You're just a coward!" she accused, "You're too scared to change anything, and too scared to tell any cat but me that you're leaving!" she hissed.

Scamp just sighed and she continued "But you're wrong to tell me! I'll tell every cat that you left and they're hunt you down and kill you!" she threatened. She wouldn't actually, but maybe it'd be enough to keep Scamp at the cave, with her.

Scamp stared at her steadily, refusing to be pushed around by her. "If you tell them that I left, I'll tell them you're training how to hunt and fight," Scamp mewed back.

Rainstone froze. Was he _threatening_ her?

"Rainstone, I'm asking you as a friend-"

Rainstone glared at him, "Didn't you just say we were more then friends? You're murdering our love!" she cried, sadness overwhelming her, like a dark wave just waiting to knock her down.

Scamp's eyes glittered and he touched her nose gently, his breath was warm and sweet. "I'm asking, as your lover, to exchange your silence for my silence," he mewed gently, in the gaze of his warm eyes, she felt like whatever he said was right and correct.

"Okay," she mumbled, forcing down the wails of loss she felt in her chest.

Scamp pushed his nose into her neck fur for a good long moment, letting her sigh in contentment and feel his warm fur and breath his familiar scent. Then he pulled away. "Goodbye, Rainstone," he murmured.

Rainstone's heart lurched, "You're leaving now?" she cried, half gone tears reappearing at the corners of her eyes.

Scamp nodded, "I have to leave now," he mewed, touching her on the cheek one last time.

Rainstone watched him pad away into the flurry of snowflakes. He soon disappeared into the cold world, and she'd never felt so lonely. Cold pressed her on all sides, but she couldn't tear her eyes from where she'd last seen the wave of Scamp's black and red tail.

She swallowed hard, she wasn't going to cry, she wasn't going to wail like a lost kit. But she truly felt like she'd been abandoned and left to wear out the little life that her small body contained. She blinked, sniffling quietly.

She didn't see anything, she didn't think anything, she didn't feel anything, and not just because she was so cold her entire body was numb. As the moon appeared below the clouds, setting in the one clear patch of sky and setting the white snow aglow, she forced her frozen legs to turn back into the cave.

She stumbled, shaking the snow, which had completely covered her, off her fur and climbed into her nest with Night. Her body throbbed as it warmed up, the snow left on her fur melting into the moss, soaking it.

But she didn't care, her eyes were screwed closed and her chest echoed in emptiness. She had traded silence for silence, but what would she do now?

**...**

**And... she's all alone again. Short-lived romance, but rather important... Or maybe not, haven't decided yet. **

**Ahem, Please Review!**


	12. Chapter 11: Changes

**Hello! **

**REVIEWS**

**"Crowstar54"- Yeah, what would you do without me?**

**"ShadowQuest2000"- Really? I got snow. And I'm glad you're well again!**

**"Silverblaze72"- Don't give up hope just yet... and Thank you!**

**"Leviathan48"- Yes... very.**

**Mouseydragonwolf- Haha! thanks!**

**Flowerheart22- its always then, isn't it? and thanks!**

**Sunfire- Glad you asked, they're in this chapter!**

**Dawnfeather- Thanks! and we always end up feeling sorrier for fiction characters...**

**Chapter 11: Changes**

The three moons after Scamp's leave were dark and hollow. Rainstone's days were one tedious chore after another, acting, playing, helping, acting some more. As the cold season took firm hold, it blanketed the valley and surrounding mountains with snow so thick that it came up to her shoulders when she went out occasionally with Night or Pepper.

Not that she went out with Pepper much anymore, between the snow and his new kits and duties, they hadn't gone out training in a moon. Whisper had kitted nearly two moons ago, bearing two toms. They were named Blizzard, and Sun.

Two very opposite names for two very opposite toms. Blizzard, a white and gray tall little kit, was rather passive and had a good nature like his father. Sun, on the other paw, with a pelt the color of burning sunlight in the middle of the warm season, had a tongue sharp enough to scorch through anything and enough energy to pass him for a mini sun, bouncing around the cave.

Their view of she-cats were the only thing similar between the two. They'd adopted their father's lenient attitude, though they expressed it in different ways. Blizzard saw it as a wrong, and treated it as such. Sun seemed to feel having a she-cat would slow him down and he didn't want to hunt for the 'miserable little creatures.'

Luckily for him, there were no she-cats for them to take as mates yet. Rainstone liked Sun better then Blizzard, though she felt it ought to be the other way. The wild tom was a natural prankster and had a fun sense of humor, nothing damaging, but still a little crude.

Stick, Ice's and Storm's last kit, had become a Trainee about a moon ago, putting another cat in the training for the hunters. Rainstone flicked an ear as she saw Sun bounding away from the fighters den, his tail straight up in the air and his darker paws swiftly carrying him toward the kit-den.

_ I bet he put those thistles I gave him earlier in some nests._ Her whiskers twitched in amusement, she'd found a light in being his accomplice in his pranks, tiny bits of defiance against the all so superior toms.

Her heart trembled as she though of Scamp. His bright amber eyes only a fading memory, she couldn't even completely remember the pattern of his pelt anymore or the sound of his voice. The only thing that her mind refused to forget was his touch, soft and silky and healing her heart. She was scarred, but not out yet.

Scamp's leaving had caused a bit of a ruckus, it'd been assumed he'd gotten stuck at dusk out hunting in the snow and had fallen down something, dead to the cats. But then his mate, Squirrel, had been left all alone. Because of Nightly's death, there were no hunters without mates, unless they wanted to give her to a Trainee, which they didn't, but several of the fighters were without mates. So Squirrel had been appointed to Fox, Rainstone did not envy her.

As every she-cat had hear, Fox had killed his last mate because he'd found fetching her food too tiresome. Now Squirrel was in the fighters kit-den, expected to kit at any time. Rainstone twitched her ears again.

"You bratty little kit! Where are you?!" Rainstone watched through narrowed eyes as Boulder stumbled out of the fighter's den. The muscular solid gray time swung his head around, amber eyes glaring.

He'd recently gone into the den, as Rainstone sat thinking, and she assumed that he'd had the unlucky nest in which Sun had infected with thistles. "Where'd he go?" Boulder hissed, stalking up to her and looming over her small figure, her tail wrapped neatly over her paws.

"I didn't see for certain, but I think he hid in Crag's den," Rainstone lied, knowing very well that Crag and Leaf were mating at the current moment, she had heard Crag ask Leaf for a 'session.' She half-hoped they were done, half-hoped they weren't.

Boulder hissed, obviously not knowing about his leader's current occupation, and swung away toward there. She heard Sun giggle, from where he'd taken refuge behind her, under her fluffy tail. Rainstone smirked as she heard Crag's outraged yowl and Leaf's embarrassed whimper.

Boulder appeared a moment later, hollow-eyed from the words and threats his leader had spat at him. Boulder's tail and head were down. Rainstone half expected him too come over to her and claw her for the bad information, but he was too dazed and just stumbled back to his den. Rainstone spotted a few thistles still stuck in his gray haunches as he turned away.

Sun burst out laughing behind her and skipped around to her front. "Thanks Rainstone! You help make the best pranks ever!" Sun laughed, his amber eyes burning with excitement. Rainstone purred and cuffed him lightly over the ear.

"The secret is acting innocent," Rainstone purred, a laugh in her voice, though it was almost faked. Sun reminded her so much of Scamp, it hurt.

"Hey! Guess what I heard," Sun purred, bounding up against her legs.

Rainstone pricked her ears, she'd busied herself all morning in the herb-den to stay away from every cat. "No, what?" Rainstone asked, bending down to face the two moon old kit.

"Sandy's gonna have kits!" Sun burst out, leaping up and swiping at nothing.

Rainstone purred at the young yellow kit. He didn't understand the worry of this. Sandy was only seven moons, Mudslide must have mated with her as soon as she was six moons.

"Now me and Blizzard-"

"Blizzard and I," Rainstone corrected his pronunciation.

"Now Blizzard and I won't be the only kits in the den! I hope the kits like playing, Blizzard would rather hear stories then play," Sun's chin set in a grumpy position, before lightening again.

"Hey, Rainstone!" Sun asked, crouching down before her, his haunches waggling and his tail whipping behind him. "Will you be my trainer?" Sun asked.

Rainstone twitched her ear uncomfortably, "I'm a fighter, you'll have a hunter mentor," she told Sun.

"But you were born a hunter, you're my father's sister!" Sun pointed out, straightening up, his amber eyes looking at her innocently.

"Yes… but I'm a fighter now," Rainstone mumbled.

"Then will you mentor a fighter kit?" Sun asked.

Rainstone shrugged, "Maybe one of Squirrel's," she mewed absently. _Not that I want to tell a kit all the rules she has too follow and everything she has to allow to be done, and teach her all about dusty herbs. I'd rather train a cat to fight!_ Her belly churned with longing, if _only_ she could be a real fighter. The days when she'd imagined it becoming a reality had long left her, but she still felt she was meant to fight real battles with tooth and claw.

She sighed, a long sorrowful sigh, one that was almost drowned out by a screech from the fighter's kit-den. Sun turned his head over his shoulder and pricked his ear to the kit-den. "What's that?" Sun asked.

"Sounds like Squirrel's kitting," she muttered, watching Leaf bound out of Crag's den, her eyes dazed from mating, as she slid into the fighter kit-den.

Rainstone pricked her ears, the howling wind had rose in strength, the light darkening. She sniffed the air, it had changed; fresher, moist and tinged with ice. It must be snowing again. She twitched her ears with worry as she saw a group of hunting cats and fighters return. Night was still out, patrolling with Pebble and Trip.

She watched Pepper pad into the cave, shaking snow from his black and white pelt. "Hey! Dad!" Sun called, his tail curling up in happiness as Pepper trotted over to them. Pepper bent down to nuzzle Sun affectionately, his blue eyes warm as he skimmed his tail down Sun's spine.

"What's going on?" Pepper asked, as another muffled wail came from the fighter's kit-den.

"Squirrel's kitting," Rainstone responded, her tail flicking. "Being a little loud, isn't she?" she muttered. When kitting, she-cats had to muffle their scream's with moss, as to not annoy the 'tired' toms. Squirrel's screeching was loud enough that it still echoed around the stone cave, muffled only slightly by the patchy dirt walls.

Rainstone sniffed, peering over Pepper, snow drifted in under the thick ivy curtain that waved only slightly in the rushing wind. The stream that ran over the hole where they came and went had frozen a few days before, it still melted occasionally in the warm sun, but it refroze every night. A hanging sheet of liquid star shine at night.

"Is it snowing hard out there?" Rainstone asked as the snowy toms went to there dens to warm up and get away from the loud screams of Squirrel.

Fox paused beside them, his green eyes sparking with annoyance. He'd never been particularly pleased with Squirrel, Rainstone guessed he'd accepted her only to mate with her. "I'll go and shut up that good-for-nothing she-cat forever if she doesn't quiet down," he snarled.

Rainstone glared at him, but held her tongue. Pepper didn't seem to want to speak out either, but Sun had yet to learn sense. "How can you say that? She's obviously in pain, and you're wronging her for that?!" Sun's voice vibrated with anger and Rainstone felt a rush of pride.

Fox glared down at the bold little tom. "That mouth of yours will get you in some serious trouble some day, especially for a cat who _won't_ be leader," Fox hissed, his eyes gleaming.

Sun flinched and Rainstone stiffened with anger. Because Blizzard had been born first, he would be leader, provided he was still alive when Pepper died. It was cruel for Fox to mock the little tom on that!

Pepper had stiffened besides her, but he still kept quiet, probably to keep the situation from inflaming itself. But the look Sun gave her, to help him against this challenge, it wrenched her heart.

"Bold words, Fox, for a cat as old and fragile as you," Rainstone mewed slyly, bracing herself for his temper. She gasped as he swiped his claws across her cheek, she stumbled to the ground on her side, scrambling to her paws, but Fox placed a powerful paw on her shoulder.

"You still think I'm old?" Fox snarled, his face twisted and his claws pricking her skin until blood rose from the scratchy pressure.

Then the lanky red tom whirled around and made for his den, Rainstone scrambling to her paws. "Are you okay, Rainstone?" Sun whimpered, pressing his paws on her tail.

"Yes," Rainstone muttered, licking her paws and cleaning the blood off her face. The scratches weren't deep and had already stopped bleeding, they'd be fine.

"You shouldn't have goaded him," Pepper mewed, his eyes dark with worry.

Rainstone swatted at him with her tail, "I'd do it all again for that look on his face," she purred.

Pepper sighed and shook his head, his whiskers twitching in slight amusement. "Come on, Sun, lets go see your mother and brother, see you later Rainstone," Pepper mewed, padding away with Sun at his side.

"I'll talk with Fox later," Rainstone jumped and turned her head to see Night, snow frosted on his fur and whiskers, padding toward her.

"You look cold, is it snowing hard outside?" Rainstone asked, the question Pepper hadn't answered.

Night nodded, "Its not too bad at the moment, but getting heavier," he answered, sitting down and shaking the snow from his fur. Rainstone helped him groom the cold snow off his fur. She did it not because she liked him any more then before, but because she wouldn't get dinner until he was done grooming himself.

"What did you do to get Fox's tail in a twist?" Night asked between licks.

Rainstone twitched an ear, "He was mocking Sun, so I stepped in," she answered.

Night sighed and shook his head, sitting back. "You get too involved in these things, you need to learn when to ignore an insult and when to stand against it," her mate mewed.

Rainstone sniffed, "But Sun is a _kit_, taunting a kit after saying something very questionable is rather harsh," she grumbled.

Night twitched his ear, but when he spoke, it was on a different subject. "I heard Squirrel had her kits, Fox didn't look too happy," Rainstone nodded, the wails had stopped while she was grooming Night, replaced by shrill mewling. Fox had stalked to the kit-den, an expectant look on his face, then left a moment later with a look of disgust, snapping names she couldn't hear over her shoulder.

"Would you like to go visit them?" Night prodded, standing up.

Rainstone sighed and nodded, though she'd rather go get some food and quiet her rumbling belly. With the cold season had come less food, so cats only ate either at the beginning or end of the day, not both.

She padded over to the den, the place she'd first seen Night, thinking his amber eyes were the prettiest thing she'd ever seen. Now they just seemed dark and nightmarish, she tried not to look at them.

She'd never been in the fighter's kit den, and had thought it would be like the hunter's kit-den. It wasn't. The ground was stone covered with a thick blanket of moss and lichen, sheltering her paws from the warmth-sucking stone. There was a gap in the stone wall, moss growing over the hole and letting only a bit of light glow through, tinting the light green.

Squirrel sat in a exhausted heap, hardly curled around the musty smelling bundles at her belly. Rainstone noticed a fresh nick in the queen's ear, crusted with blood. _Fox must have really been annoyed._

She flinched when she saw why, two she-cats lay at the queen's belly, no toms. One of the she-cats was patched black and white, her tail black while all her paws were white and one eye was patched with black while the other was patched white with the alternate ears the same colors. The rest of her face was white and her nose was the palest tinge of pink.

The other she-kit was already looking slender, with a solid gray coat that had the faintest tinge of pink, like the clouds in the sky in the early morning. Her nose looked more purple, like a berry.

"They are very lovely," Rainstone murmured, she wouldn't admit it, but she thought they were very adorable and it sparked a feeling. She wanted kits of her own now.

_ No you don't!_ She told herself, but it didn't change that spark of longing in her heart. Night had a longing look in his sap colored eyes as well and he hummed quietly. "Lets leave her to rest," Night murmured in her ear.

"Wait," she stopped. "Squirrel, do they have names?" Rainstone asked. Squirrel nodded tiredly.

"The patched one is Half, and the other is Flower," Squirrel mumbled.

Rainstone frowned, _Half?_ The name… was interesting. Sounded more like a tom's name to her, but Fox was weird, so it'd do. Rainstone then nodded to Squirrel and followed Night out, happy when he padded over to the fresh-kill pile, grabbing a rather plump hare for them to share.

Rainstone ate her share of the meal, idly answering Night's questions about what she'd done that day, and faking a purr as he laughed when she told him about the prank she and Sun pulled. At least he found her exploits amusing, other toms would claw there she-cats for doing something so audacious.

She yawned and stretched out on her belly by Night's flank. Sleepy murmurs echoed around the cave, like the soothing murmur of dripping water, rising and falling in tone. She wondered why Night didn't go to their nest, every other cat had left and the moon must be close to moon-high, though the blizzard still roared outside, it sounded distant, unable to touch her warm fur.

But Night laid on his belly, paws tucked under him, eyes half-closed, ears pricked toward the entrance, tail flicking restlessly. "What's wrong?" Rainstone mumbled through a yawn, raising her head to blink sleepily at the entrance and fighting the lull of sleep.

The dark light flickered in the pounding snow, whirling around and dancing through the cold night to lay at rest on the frosty ground. Night shifted uneasily, "Crag went out just as the blizzard started, not wanting to stay where he could hear Squirrel, he hasn't returned yet," Night murmured in a low voice. Rainstone could see the fear in his eyes though.

She understood it, in the mountains, when it was so dark and snowing so hard… It was all too easy for a cat to lose its way, either walking off the mountain and falling to its death, or freezing in the snapping jaws of ice.

Rainstone shifted uneasily, she definitely wasn't ready to be the leader's mate, then it'd be almost a must for her to have kits, and if she couldn't… Then she'd be replaced and disposed of. Fear churned in her belly, and she sat up and copied Night's position, sitting vigil with him all through the blustery night.

She must have dozed off though, for when she jerked awake, she couldn't find what had awoken her. Night had fallen asleep, slipping into a curled ball at her side. She stood up, her muscles stiff from her crouched position.

She padded around in a tight circle, flicking her ears for what had awoken her, for she knew she'd heard it. Then she stopped and realized that it wasn't what she'd heard, it was what she _hadn't_ heard. The wind had stopped, the blizzard was over!

She sniffed the air, cold freezing her as she realized Crag's scent wasn't there, he still hadn't returned. Faint dawn light, red-orange, touched her paws, shimmering in under the ivy curtain. She prodded Night awake.

He yawned and stretched, "Is Crag back yet?' he mumbled sleepily, eyes still closed.

"No, but the blizzard is over," Rainstone mewed quietly.

Night's eyes flicked open and she stared at her, scrambling to his paws. "We have to go after him!" Night mewed desperately.

Rainstone nodded in agreement, but flicked her tail up as Night bounded toward the entrance. "Tell some cat where we're going first, the sunrise is red, that means bad weather," Rainstone growled. She'd studied the patterns of weather and knew the signs as well as any other she-cat who hardly had anything to do all dreary day long.

Night nodded briskly, "Fine," he mewed, not wasting any time in darting over to the fighter's den and pulled out a sleepy-eyes Boulder, Red at his shoulder, her blue eyes wide as Night spoke earnestly to them.

Then Night bounded over to the ivy curtain and Rainstone followed him quickly, slipping out into the frosty morning air. Her breath shimmered in front of her as she followed him down the snowy slope, the snow crumbling away beneath her paws.

Fresh powdered snow lay on top of the compacted snow beneath, so Rainstone was still stepping in snow that went half-way up her forelegs. Night padded in front of her, nose to the frosted ground as he followed the faintest scent of Crag.

The snow and the wind had blown most of the scent away overnight though, and Night stopped at a stony patch of ground, clear of snow since it blew right over the little, slick, mesa. "I lost it!" Night growled, flicking his tail in annoyance, though Rainstone knew it arose from fear.

"Let me try," Rainstone mewed, pushing past Night, Pepper had taught her all his tricks in tracking. Because it was stone, there were no paw-prints, and it was clear of anything that might hold the scent better, but Rainstone touched her nose to a small patch of dirt along the smoothed out stone trail.

"I found it!" she called to Night, who was pacing around and trying to find the scent. He rushed over to her at her call and put his nose to the ground, his head coming up in confusion.

"I don't smell it," he mewed doubtfully.

"Its there," Rainstone promised, it was true that it was faint, but unmistakable, was Night just not used to tracking scents? He was a fighter, only looking for immediate scents on the border.

Night followed her doubtfully, but since there were no other leads, he had no excuse to not follow her. The scent trail led along the main trails, she flicked her ears at it gradually became stronger as they neared one of the few patches of trees.

Night pushed past her hurriedly as he picked up the scent, loping along the scent, where it began turning off the main trail. Rainstone raced after him, her paws only lightly skimming the snowy ground.

She slowed as she spotted Night ahead, standing stiff-legged under the skeleton of a willow tree where Rainstone's comfrey grew in the warm season. Her heart beat loudly in her chest, she was sure Night could hear it.

She'd caught another scent, a musty and harsh scent that sent claws of ice raking down her spine. She padded slowly over to Night, already guessing what she'd find. She brushed against her grief-stricken mate, wrapping her tail around his neck comfortingly and he leaned against her, as if too dizzy to stand.

"Why did this have to happen?" Night whispered.

Rainstone blinked down at the lifeless, frosted body of Crag. "Because life changes, and now you're leader," Rainstone mewed quietly, her voice surprisingly steady, she felt that the whole world was crashing down around her, but inside of her was a calm pool, not even rippling in the gusty wind of change.

"I don't want to be leader, not without Crag," Night whimpered. Rainstone stared at the new leader of the fighter's. She was now the leader's mate, and all she could think was; _I don't want you to be leader either, Night._

**...**

**Okay, if there were any grammar mistakes, its because I was really tired when I wrote it, and was distracted when proof-reading. But, oh my gosh! Night's leader already! lets have some fun with this...**

**Please Review!**


	13. Chapter 12: New Responsibilities

**Hello! so here is the next chapter... but you already knew that... hopefully**

**REVIEWS**

**"Leviathan48"- Thank you!**

**"SwiftStar of ThunderClan"- Yes, poor little kitties... I fee so sorry for all the cats that end up being my characters**

**"Silverblaze72"- No, they do not have a leader ceremony, or at least I don't think they do...**

**"Silverwind of Forestclan"- Yep, one thing you can never be afraid of in my stories is a lack of plot-twists.**

**"Crowstar54"- Well, we don't want that now... so I'll just have to keep writing!**

**"pianodevotion"- Oh yes... definitely interesting.**

** "CrystalStar Of LightClan"- Because it was a good stopping point!**

**"ShadowQuest2000"- I know, I'm so dirty. And yes! I will get things moving here before long!**

**Flowerheart22- Yep, already leader and there's already a few problems.**

**Mouseydragonwolf- Well then hurry and read it and stop wondering! **

**Chapter 12: New Responsibilities**

Moons pass, changes come, whether you want them or not. Night became leader, receiving mingled support. One thing to understand is that the new leaders have usually never proved themselves capable before, so they have to earn their respect as leaders.

Rainstone was a credit to him though, making his path smoother at first, her quick wit and unmistakable confidence in her skills that managed to keep up, kept the fighter's from panicking as sickness broke out. She cured every single cat that got sick with a new mixture of herbs she'd discovered worked.

Now she'd been the leader's mate for three moons. Leaf, Night's mother, had been given Pebble as a new mate, as no she-cat could live without a mate. As well as that change, Crisp, her former trainer, had kitted, having just one tom, which Snake seemed pleased with.

It was a stocky little tom, would obviously be a perfect fighter, and looked much like his father. A black tom with large dark brown eyes. The only difference was that instead of brown hairs speckling his pelt, they were orange, like his mother's fur.

His name was Fish, which Rainstone had found an odd name, but Snake had really wanted that name, so be it. The tom had inherited his father's pride and his mother's quiet confidence. The only reason Rainstone had really paid so much attention to him was that he was the first kit she'd helped delivered.

Nothing could come close to that sense of wonder as she watched the new life take its first gasping breath and then instinctively go to its mother. She'd also enjoyed the flash of pure affection Snake had showed for his new son, his eyes softening from their usual hard, suggestive look. He'd even purred and nudged Crisp gently with sentiment in his eyes. It'd just made her want kits of her own more.

She licked her paw and drew it over her ear, cleaning out a bit of herb juice she'd gotten on her pelt while helping Sun put some yarrow in Fox's food. Not enough to make him throw up, but enough to make him feel ill.

She glared as she saw the old lanky tom. His two she-kits sitting silently in the entrance of the fighter's kit-den. Their eyes hollow and they shivered against each other. _The poor little kits,_ she thought sadly.

Squirrel was dead, the only death since Night's leadership. Fox claimed she'd fallen down a steep cliff while they were on a walk. But Rainstone had studied the body while getting it ready for burial, she'd seen the fresh claw marks. Fox had attacked his mate, angry about the two she-kits, and had either accidentally or purposefully killed her.

Night, of course, had believed her when she told him, but he decided not to punish Fox. Wasn't enough evidence, even if it had been against the rules, he told her. But he promised her Fox would never have another mate. She took comfort in that, but the daughters Squirrel had left behind wouldn't be able to.

She flicked her tail as she watched, her paws cold and her nose damp from sniffling. She had a little cold, nothing serious, but she'd been weakened by spending so much time with the sick cats. So she was stuck alone in the herb-den until she got better.

She almost was well again, she'd be moving back in with Night before a few nights more had passed. But Half's training wouldn't wait. The black and white kit was becoming a trainee at three moons, to become Cliff's mate, who was the youngest fighter. Flower would be Fish's mate when he was five moons.

She glanced as Stick trotted across the stone floor hurriedly, pausing by Pepper. The trainee had recently become a full hunter and was eager to show off his new position by talking to the future leader whenever he could.

Her mind drifted again, Sun and Blizzard would become trainees today as well, her paws itched. She wanted to train one of them! She knew just as much about hunting as Pepper, and no cat would say he was incapable of training!

She snorted, resentment churning in her belly, rolling over her, wave after wave, like storm clouds being heaved along the gusty wind. She sniffed as she saw Hawk and Droplet, her parents dozing by Hawk's den. She knew Droplet was expecting kits again, she could scent the slight change and see the belly rounded slightly.

She glanced up as Night entered the cave, shaking snow off his legs, though sunlight glowed pale yellow from behind him. She padded up to him, swiping her nose clean with a paw before nuzzling him briskly.

She'd grown a bit more closer to him, almost to where they'd been on the assessment, but she still didn't love him. Though she was thankful that ever since he'd been leader he hadn't mated with her, feeling it was too unprofessional. Whatever worked for him worked for her.

"So how are you feeling today?" Night asked, his amber eyes slightly concerned.

"Better," her voice rasped since she hadn't talked to any cat that day. She cleared it loudly, "I'll be healthy again in a few days," her voice smoother.

Night nodded, "Are you ready for your first Trainee?" he asked, leading her over to the stone wall. No water ran down it now, but the water in the base was frozen, they cracked it in the morning to get water, but it froze over again every night. You could feel the cold increase as soon as you put your paw by the stone, it was practically ice.

She nodded at Night's question, though she didn't really want to train to kit and remind herself of all the rules, especially the ones she broke. She'd dragged Pepper out for a sparring match not long ago, just before she got sick, looking back, that was probably what had gotten her sick.

She helped him lick the melting snow off his thick black fur. The sun dropped lower, the light turning more orange, though she noticed that the sky wasn't particularly red, and she'd noticed earlier that there were rings around the sun.

As Night headed over to Hawk she padded to the ivy curtain, peering out, she saw dark clouds on the other side of the tallest mountain peak. The breeze rushed to her from that direction, smelling strongly wet and like the bare mountains on the other side of the surrounding mountains.

There'd be a blizzard, or she was a mouse.

She hurried back to Night as he and Hawk called the cats together. She listened dully as Hawk appointed Sun and Blizzard trainers, he gave them the three same mentors; Scratch, Ice, and Mudslide. When she saw the tom who'd been a kit with her step forward, she wondered when he'd matured, his eyes sparkling with intelligence and his fur smooth and the gaze respectful to all.

Then as Night called Cliff and Half forward, named them mates, and Rainstone as the trainer, she saw how insecure the little kit looked standing by the tom that was the same age as her trainer. And Cliff looked slightly perturbed by the small size of the kit.

The meeting was over quickly, and for once there was no celebrating, probably because of the lack of food and the cold and sickness that had crept in like a dark fog into every cat's mind.

Rainstone stepped to Half's side, she looked up at her with her hazel green-brown eyes. "How can that cat be my mate? He's so big!" her voice squeaked out like a kits voice did.

Rainstone shrugged, Half was almost four moons old, she'd grow quickly, and she wasn't exactly a small kit, she'd be bigger then her anyways. "Just be nice, do what he wants, and I'll explain more tomorrow," her advice ended in a stifled cough and weariness and chills pulled at her.

She stumbled over and flopped down on her belly by Night, wishing the floor wasn't stone, it sucked her much-needed warmth from her. She looked at Night, he was eating a mouse, he'd gotten her a shrew, and she'd eaten it earlier.

"See you tomorrow," Night mewed as he yawned, the sunlight fading to gray twilight in the small time before the moon would rise. Her mind drifted to the stars as she was left all alone in the cave. She hadn't had a dream since the cold season had set in, she wondered if it had just been the result of imagination. _But then how was I healed?_ That was the one bit of proof to kept her believing.

She shook her head and stumbled to the herb-den, settling into the mossy make-shift nest she'd made out of the clean scraps from the nests of the sick cats she'd taken care of. She sighed as she curled down, trying to find some scrap of warmth, but found nothing but hollow emptiness. Her new responsibilities were rather hard and tiresome…

She blinked open her eyes, her breath catching in her throat and her heart thudding in her head as she saw dozens of colored stars in front of her, the white light flashing with the colors of fur and eyes. Confusion filled her, she felt like stumbling, but her paws were rooted to the snowy spire she stood on, elevated far above the valley.

Then slowly, the shapes forming in liquid like movements, the stars became cats, toms and she-cats, kits and elders, skinny and muscular, every kind of cat that could be imagined. The colors of pelts and eyes varied, but none two were exactly the same.

Her eyes began picking up a few certain that were closer to her, _That one looks like Crisp! Except he's a tom… her father perhaps? And that one looks like me!_ Her eyes widened as she saw a smoky blue-gray tom with the exact same shape of the ears, only his shoulders were broader and his eyes were amber. His scent, mostly of the wind and stars, held just a trace of what reminded her of herself and her mother…

_ Are these… my ancestors? Is that what it means? The cats who have gone before? Are they the stars?_ She could see starlight licking at their paws and fur and shining in their eyes. Understanding flooded her along with joy, she finally knew what it meant! But what did this mean for the cats back in the cave?

Then, in a blinding flash that forced her to close her eyes, she opened them and found herself on a thin bit of rock like the spine of a cat, the drop on either side pulled at her fur while the harsh wind, though not tinged with ice, cut through her fur and threatened to sweep her off her paws.

Her eyes fixed on an imposing figure padding steadily toward her, the black fur not moving in the wind. It was the same black cat that she had seen in her dreams! "Who are you?!" Rainstone called, raising her voice above the wind as she latched onto the stone with her claws.

The black cat, know only two eagle-lengths in front of her, halted and stared at her. Amber eyes looking at her, the scent reached her. It told her the cat was very old, smelling of ancient dust and wind, it also told her it was a she-cat.

"My name, though unused for seasons, is Song," the words, though barely breathed, echoed louder then thunder, the wind falling away suddenly around her.

Rainstone stared at the black she-cat, Song. "Why are we here?" Rainstone asked, her voice trembling with barely refrained excitement. She'd finally found out who the mysterious black cat was!

"I have come to warn you, you will never fix the cats in the cave," The words Song spoke made her heart fall. Did she not make any difference? Did these dreams mean she was nothing special? She knew that she thought she'd been special, that she'd wanted to be special, to be the hero, to fix the cats in the cave and be remembered for her great effort. Was that never to happen?

"Why not?!" Rainstone mewed hotly, shame heating her ears as if she was already a failure.

Song stared at her, unblinking. "Follow your instincts and take up your new responsibilities that I am giving you, and maybe your legacy won't be lost…" And with that, the wind started up again, Song whisked away in its torrent. Rainstone yowled, scrunching up her eyes, mingled emotions rushed through her, joy, relief, anger, sorrow, shame, loss, the feelings of discovery and failure.

Rainstone gasped awake, she was sitting in her nest in the herb-den, what was left of her nest was messed up, while scraps were flung everywhere. She twitched her ears, even without the nest, she didn't feel cold, not like she'd felt the day before.

She touched her nose, it was cool and moist, not wet and warm like the day before. Her breathing was clear and the slight heaviness on her chest had lifted. Then it came back down, her dream pounding into her memory. She wasn't special, she'd never accomplish anything special, she'd never fix anything…

But Song's other words…_ "Follow your instincts and your legacy will live on,"_ Maybe _she_ wouldn't be able to fix anything… but maybe she could start it. With a renewed surge of confidence in her beliefs and actions, she quickly swept up her scattered nest, she'd dump it out later.

She trotted out, spotting Night stretching just outside the leader's den by the rock wall. She bounded over to him, purring as she skidded to a stop. He purred back, his eyes lightening. "You seem cheerful this morning," he purred, touching her nose.

Rainstone nodded, her heart felt light and her paws hardly seemed to touch the ground, she couldn't tell him about her discoveries or her sense of purpose. But she could tell him she wasn't sick any more. "I'm all better now!" she purred, nuzzling his neck.

Night's purr echoed in her ears as he touched her head so gently. Rainstone felt a burst of emotions, but the one thought that surfaced was, _I wish this was Scamp._ Instantly, a wave of loss and resigned sadness swept over her, bringing her back to the cold and difficult world.

She stepped back, letting Night choose which cats would patrol and when, the entire border was patrolled twice a day, one in the morning, then after sun-high. Two patrols at a time, one doing one half, the other doing the last half.

She watched him drag cats out, Half stumbling out after Cliff, tripping and falling as her sleepy paws scuffed at the round stone. Rainstone winced as Swallowtail tripped over the kit, he snarled at Half, who shrank back in fear as Swallowtail scratched her black ear, not cutting through the skin, but enough for it to sting.

Half bounded over to her, tripping over her own black tail and tumbling head-over-paws and landing in between Rainstone's wide, soft paws. "Oh, Rainstone, its you," Half sighed in relief, scrambling to her paws, shaking her black and white fur out.

Rainstone nodded, feeling a prick of sympathy when she looked down into Half's round, scared hazel eyes. "Are you okay? Swallowtail didn't hurt you much, did he?" Rainstone asked, rasping her tongue over the scratch.

"N-no, I'm fine," Half stammered.

Rainstone nodded, "Then lets not waste any time, we can get right to training since we're both awake," Rainstone mewed, trotting over to the herb-den. Half followed her, her tail dragging.

"Aren't we going to get something to eat?" Half complained.

Rainstone shook her head, "We only eat once a day in the cold season," she reminded the kit, though her own belly was grumbling.

Half muttered something under her breath. "Can't we eat now?" the kit asked.

Rainstone sighed, "Only your mate, Cliff, can get you food, one of the rules you'll need to learn," she mewed, though her small bit of patience was rapidly growing thinner, just waiting to snap.

Half didn't say any more as they padded into the herb-den. "What's that smell?" Half asked, wrinkling her nose, "It smells like sickness," the kit sneezed, "And dust."

Rainstone twitched her ears, the smell of sickness was washed out, only a fain trace from her own sniffling was left, but she doubted the kit could smell it. "Its herbs, you'll have to learn how to use every single one of them," Rainstone mewed, twitching her tail in a horrible attempt to be excited.

"No thanks, I want to learn how to fight! Like Fish will!" Half purred, her tail curling over her back and her eyes staring at her expectantly.

Rainstone narrowed her eyes, lashing her tail impatiently, what had Song said? _"Take up your new responsibilities."_ Was this part of it? Putting her ideas into this small cat to pass on to her trainee so that the idea grows? _If that's it, then it could take generations before anything happens!_

She snorted, she'd figure it out later, now she had to put her paw on Half's retreating tail. "You don't get to learn to fight, you get to learn how to heal and about all the rules," Rainstone growled.

Half lashed her tail, "That sounds stupid," the kit grumbled, staring up at her hostilely.

"Then take it up with Swallowtail next time you annoy him," Rainstone napped. "You have no power," she snarled.

Half fluffed up her fur, though her hazel eyes were sad, as if she already knew. "Did my mother not follow the rules?" Half suddenly looked tired and sorrowful beyond her age.

Rainstone couldn't keep back the pity for the pathetic scrap of fur in front of her who had been wronged. She wrapped her fluffy tail around the small, patched figure. "Your mother was a friend of mine," Rainstone knew that wasn't exactly the truth, Squirrel had been more friends with Cinder, and had suspected something between her and Scamp and been a little cold toward her.

"And she never broke any of the rules, Fox is a… troubled cat," she mewed, not wanting to say anything bad about a tom when she wasn't sure who was listening. "And he wanted tom kits, so when Squirrel just had females… He took his anger out on her, he attacked her and during the fight she accidentally fell and died," Rainstone murmured softly, not actually quite sure if Fox had done it accidentally or not. But no need to trouble the kit.

Half sighed, "At least I know my mother didn't do anything wrong…" it seemed to lift a weight off the kits shoulders and she looked brighter. "So what were you going to teach me about herbs?"

Rainstone purred to herself and started showing Half all her herbs, the inquisitive kit chatting non-stop in her ears. And they both ended up laughing over a joke, the cold unable to touch the bonding trainer and trainee. Rainstone purred and thought to herself, _maybe my new responsibilities aren't so bad after all…_

**...**

**A slightly happier ending, and oh no! blah blah blah! a reminder that this is actually a trilogy of three books! e' gasp! Have no idea if I spelled that right. I don't speak French, yet.**

**Please!... Review!**


	14. Chapter 13: Shadows

**Hello! here's this shorter, but very important, chapter!**

**REVIEWS**

**"Leviathan48"- Its a possibility. **

**"Crowstar54"- I always found ominous as a fun word ;)**

**"Lunastar of InfinityClan"- Patience is a virtue**

**Dawnfeather- Thanks! I like Half too**

**"Silverwind of ForestClan"- We'll see her plenty... or not. **

**"ShadowedFrost"- Thanks! and I already have my own plans, but you weren't far off from my plans!**

**"ShadowQuest2000"- Yeah! learning French will be difficult... But I'll do it!**

**Mouseydragonwolf- Well, it can't always be sad! its got to be a little positive now and again. **

**"Silverblaze72"- We'll see a little of him in this chapter, I only plan this thing chapter by chapter!**

**Sunfire- No problem! and thank you! it is nice to hear that :)**

**Chapter 13: Shadows**

"This is goldenrod, its pretty rare, but is great for healing wounds," Rainstone mewed, pulling out the rarest herb she had to allow Half sniff at it.

The black and white kit was now five moons, almost finished with her training. Today was the last day. "What happens when I'm done training?" Half asked as Rainstone put her scanty bit of herbs away. As the leader's mate, she used more herbs then before. Not that she'd complained, she enjoyed anything that could keep her paws busy.

"Nothing. Cliff, your mate, is already a fighter, so you just go on and use what I taught you in your life," Rainstone answered. Half wouldn't be going on the assessment around the mountains, pity.

"But I want to do something! Something important!" Half protested, her claws gouging the cold dirt floor.

Rainstone shrugged, flicking a bit of dirt off her paw. "Tough, I'd like to do a lot of things as well, but that's how it is," she growled.

Half flicked her tail mutinously. Rainstone knew she hated the rules almost as much as she did, but she wouldn't say so out loud, her black and white ears were crisscrossed with scars from when she'd voiced her doubts. She'd been clawed more then Rainstone, Cliff wasn't as forgiving as Night.

Speaking of which, his scent drifted to her along with the cold scent of snow. "You're dismissed, we won't be meeting again to train, you've learned all I have to teach," she mewed curtly.

"Will there be a ceremony?' Half asked.

"No," Rainstone answered curtly, turning away from her former trainee, disappointment tugging at her paws at the thought of not spending time with Half again. The annoying little cat gave her enough distraction to get through the cold, lonely days of the cold season, she'd never forget her little friend.

She touched Half's black ear gently, "I'll miss teaching you," she murmured, her heart pulsing in her chest.

Half's eyes glimmered in amusement, "Even if I am a snotty little owl?" Half teased, using the name Rainstone had so often called her.

Rainstone smirked, "Yep, even a snotty little owl can become a friend," she purred, flicking Half's cheek lightly with her tail.

She turned and padded out of the den, her ears twitching as she heard Half's last words echoing after her. "I'll miss your training as well, even if you're an irritable old jay."

Rainstone purred and padded toward Night, he was padding toward her, his paws clean of snow. As the cold season waned off, the top snow would melt then refreeze during the night, leaving the snow icy and slick.

"How was your day?" Night purred, touching her ear as she brushed her muzzle along his cheek.

"Good, I finished training Half today," she reported, pressing against him as they walked to his den, formerly Crag's den. It still held a trace of Night's father.

Inside the dirt and stone ground was covered with lichen that grew soft and feathery and a large round hollow in the back was full of fresh feathers and moss. It was a very comfortable nest. "So how was your day?" Rainstone asked as they settled in their nest, grooming each others fur.

"It was fine, I've got to go out again later though, Pepper told me that he thought he scented those rogues again, but he should be back before long," Night mewed. Rainstone's heartbeat sped up and her ears pricked. Could she possibly get a little sparring match in with Pepper later? They hadn't been out together for what seemed like moons, though it'd only been a few days.

She missed the days when they spent all their extra time together, but now Pepper had kits and was busy being instructed by Hawk on leadership problems. As her thoughts had wandered, Night had began speaking again.

"Do you think it'll ever happen?" Nigh was mewing.

Rainstone stared at him dumbly, annoyed that she hadn't been paying attention. "Do you think we will ever have kits?" Night pressed impatiently.

Rainstone shrugged, "I don't know, we've mated more then enough times, but it just hasn't happened," she mewed discouragingly.

Night's eyes flickered with a bit of fear. "I _need_ you to have kits," he muttered.

Rainstone's ears twitched, "Why? So I won't be thrown out?" she growled.

"Yes!" Night mewed, exasperated.

"But you're leader, can't you change something?" Rainstone groaned.

"No! both leaders have to agree, and I doubt Hawk will turn against the rules," Night growled. "He's a stickler for rules if I ever saw one," her black mate muttered.

Rainstone shrugged, "We can try again later, I want to go see if Pepper's about," she mewed, getting out of the nest.

Night sighed, his eyes worried. But Rainstone just swept out of the den, spotting Pepper and Whisper sharing prey with Blizzard and Sun playing nearby. "Now you be the mouse, and I'll be the hunter," Sun was mewing, his amber eyes gleaming as Blizzard crouched and shuffled along, squeaking like a mouse as Sun leapt at him skillfully.

"Are you kits or Trainees?" Rainstone purred as she swept past.

"Now Rainstone's the mouse!" Sun yowled, leaping for her and hooking her legs out from underneath her and Blizzard jumping on her back. Rainstone purred as she fell to the ground, the two small toms squirming on top of her, their eyes bright with delight as she batted at them with her wide, soft paws.

"Is that anyway to treat your kin?" Pepper mewed, his voice light with laughter and Rainstone looked up at his blue eyes that glimmered with amusement.

"Help me!" she groaned as she rolled on her back, Blizzard pulling at her tail while Sun wrestled her down.

"I think you can help yourself," Pepper laughed, stepping back a pace. Rainstone rolled her eyes and sat up, pulling her tail away and bundling Sun off her chest. She stepped in front of Pepper, leaning toward him.

"Can we take a quick walk?" she murmured. Pepper sighed and nodded, the amusement falling from his eyes to replaced by weary agreement.

"Lets go now, while most cats are resting in between patrols and hunting," Pepper muttered, having a quick word with Whisper before leading her out of the cave.

She breathed in the fresh air, hitting her like a slap after the warm and stuffy air of the cave. But now it didn't burn her nose like it had earlier in the season, it was starting to warm up and she felt the weak warmth from the sun over the chilly breeze that blew down the mountain.

They padded down the slope, Rainstone racing down it, letting her paws slide expertly down the icy snow while Pepper scrambled to keep his grip. She tripped near the bottom of the slope on a bit of slushy snow and fell with a yowl face first into a drift of soft powdery snow.

Her teeth chattered as the freezing snow chilled her to the bone. Shivering, she pulled herself out of the drift as Pepper laughed at her from behind. She turned to him, snow clumped on her fur so that she almost looked white.

"You wouldn't think it was so funny if it was you!" glaring, she grabbed a paw-full of snow and flung it at him. She let out a yowl of delight as it hit him in the face and he stumbled, spluttering.

"Oh yeah!" Pepper shouted, purring. He grabbed a paw-full of snow and flung it at her. She squeaked and dodged, the snow landing at her paws.

She threw more snow at him until he was as white as she was and she was even whiter then before, but she was so warm that she didn't mind, all her problems melting away in that short time of bliss.

She fell on her back, snow puffing up around her, she felt warm through and her laughter rang through the air like the cry of an eagle. Pepper fell down beside her, his black patches mostly clumped under snow.

"I-I haven't h-had t-that much f-fun since I-I was a trai-trainee!" Pepper panted, purring besides her, his eyes narrowed into laughing slits.

Rainstone purred and with one paw slapped a bit more snow on Pepper's face. He laughed, spluttering and wrapped his tail around her paw. She laughed and pulled her paw away, getting back to her paws and looked around.

During the snow fight they'd actually went in the wrong direction, though not far. "We better hurry up, or we won't have time to do anything," Rainstone mewed.

Pepper nodded as he got to his own paws, shaking the snow from his fur. Rainstone did likewise, retaining her dark gray fur. She brushed off a few bits of snow off of Pepper's black patches with her tail and he swiped a bit off her head with his paw.

"Lets race there!" Rainstone mewed, bounding away in the right direction, her paws kicking up clumps of snow in her wake. Pepper pulled alongside her and she huffed as she struggled to keep up, her paws sliding over the snow that flashed with sunlight.

She'd spent most of the cold season in the cave, but Pepper had hunted every day, so his stronger muscles pulled past her, leaving her trailing, panting, and struggling to keep up. Pepper had already leaped down into the clearing, pushing the snow off a patch of dirt as she finally arrived.

She flopped on her belly on a bit of clean snow, closing her eyes against the glare of the sun and struggling to gulp air into her burning lungs. "Are you alright?" Pepper purred, poking her with a paw.

Rainstone groaned, her lungs burned and the sun seemed to bright. "When did running become so hard!" she moaned, swinging herself to her paws.

"When you stopped exercising," Pepper mewed, poking her with a paw again. Not that she was fat, she was even skinnier then before with the reduced food, her skin clinging to her more tightly.

"More like when we got a lack of food," Rainstone grumbled as she followed Pepper into the cleared dirt patch.

She trained all her focus on Pepper, struggling to push all her instinctive and learned training to her paws, though she had trouble recalling every single move. _How do I twist again? What timing does that move require? What am I doing with my paws in that move?_ Confusion flooded her as Pepper leapt.

She tried to dodge, but he caught her tail and she stumbled, not much, but enough for him to leap at her exposed back before she could turn. She rolled into the ground, trying to get back to her paws, but his heavy weight on her shoulders prevented her from doing anything but rolling, with him landing on top when they stopped.

She huffed as he got off, purring. "Looks like you're a little out of practice," he purred.

"Don't sound so happy about it," Rainstone muttered, furious for letting herself be beaten so easily. "Lets go again," Rainstone mewed, wanting to prove to herself that she could still fight.

Pepper crouched, facing her. But she wasn't going to allow him to make the first move. She lunged for him, sliding for his legs on her belly which skidded over the layer of snow. He moved out of reach, but Rainstone twisted around and lashed out, hooking out his front legs with her back ones.

She rolled to her paws and leaped at him, hitting his shoulder and the already unbalanced tom tumbled onto his side, his legs and tail flailing. She leapt at him, but he caught her with his four paws and flung her away with his greater strength.

She huffed as she fell in a snow drift, struggling to get out only to find Pepper's paws pressed on her chest. "I win again!" Pepper crowed.

Rainstone glared at him as he let her up, shaking snow off her paws. Before Pepper had time to look back at her, she leapt at him, landing on his back and after a few moments of struggling pulled him to the ground.

"Now I won!" she shouted, anger still pulsing through her with a savage rush of exhilaration.

"Hey!" Pepper yelped, "You're clawing me!" he cried. The shock in his voice made Rainstone realize she'd unsheathed her claws and had scratched him, though he wasn't bleeding.

"Sorry," she muttered, stepping off of him.

Pepper glared at her and ran his tongue over his shoulders. "And you didn't win, that was cheating!" Pepper protested.

Rainstone sighed, she knew he was right, though in a real fight it wouldn't have mattered. "Lets try again," Rainstone pressed.

Pepper looked uncertain, "I don't know, its getting late…" he murmured, the sun had fallen behind the mountains, the shadows would lengthen quickly and it'd be dark.

The air had gotten colder as well, the wind dying away as the clouds drifted lazily over the sky. "Just once more," Rainstone begged.

Pepper sighed and nodded. Rainstone purred and faced him, fur fluffed up and gaze narrowed. She held her breath, her eyes trained on his muscles as they flexed and slid under his smooth black and white patched pelt.

She saw them strain, pricked her ears to hear the intake of breath. All her senses focused on this fight. _Now!_ She saw his paws fly off the ground and saw them aim for her chest. She was already moving, her paws sliding as if on air and slipping her out of harms way.

Pepper landed on his front paws and twisted on his back ones as they hit ground and turned toward her again. She leaped toward him as she lunged for her, her paws swiping at his muzzle as she twisted out of reach of his flailing paws. She landed gracefully and spun around, wind rushing in her ears as she raced toward her brother who had stumbled after her blow.

Leaping at him from the side, she twisted her paws around his and tussled him to the ground, smothering him with her fur and planting her paws firmly on his shoulders she had pinned him and won!

She purred loudly, looking down into Pepper's eyes that gleamed with annoyance and happiness.

"Good fight," he puffed as she let him sit up, the dark gray light shadowing his fur.

"Thanks," she purred, flicking a bit of dirty snow off his back.

Her eyes traveled to the ground, their black shadows playing on the ground at their paws, stretching forward till they reached the chasm. Rainstone's eyes flew to a moving shadow just in front of her own. Two ears, flicking. Two cat ears, moving away hurriedly.

Her eyes flew to the ledge over their training ground, but not cat sat there, though her heart thudded in her chest. She leaped up, eyes scanning the shadowy landscape. The moving shadows of the sparse trees waved and the cloudy sky continually became darker and made it impossible to make out just one shadow.

"What's wrong?" Pepper asked, leaping up besides her, eyes stretched wide as he peered into the darkness.

Rainstone scented the air. Cat. But she could hardly scent anything but hers and Peppers, the only other scent was so faint the cat could have passed by days ago. _Not with all the melting and freezing, the cat was here today._

Was the cat watching them? Her belly churned with unease, nervousness pricked at her fur. "No cats been here recently but me and you," Pepper reported, he'd been drawing in the scents as well. Although she hadn't told him, he had guessed that was what was worrying her.

"G-good," she stammered. She looked at the fleeting shadows. Oh! Why were there so many?! And why were they so dark? All shades of black on the dark gray land. It was an impossible game, the snow was hard on top so there were no paw-prints and no scent was recent.

So where did those shadowy ears come from? And what if there had been a cat there? Her unease grew as she allowed Pepper to lead her back to the cave, not noticing the conspicuous pair of eyes gleaming from the shadows.

**...**

**Oh! we're back to ominous endings! Well, I hope it was somewhat ominous. I won't go dun dun dun, though I totally hear it in my head. **

***Sneeze* Please Review!**


	15. Chapter 14: Retribution

**Hello! Not to sound like a whiny person, but I've noticed I'm getting less reviews, when, honestly, I should be getting more as the story goes on. 0_0 Yes, I'm looking at you. **

**REVIEWS You guys are my favorites!**

**"pianodevotion"- Thank you!**

**"SwiftStar of Thunderclan"- I can't answer, just read the chapter!**

**"Silverblaze72"- You shall see. And I want to figure out how to give Sun a bigger role...**

**Sunfire- I know, how dare I.**

**"ShadowQuest2000"- She isn't! not that weird necessarily. At the moment anyways. I want more ominousy endings... though some people would disagree. **

**"Silverwind of ForestClan"- Thanks! I think some family moments are important for the structure of the character. **

**"Crowstar54"- We've been over this. **

**Mouseydragonwolf- Well, its a cat with blue eyes... Night has amber. **

**Chapter 14: Retribution **

Rainstone followed Pepper up the slope to the cave. They'd be in trouble, cats were supposed to be back in the cave before sundown, they were late. But that wasn't what was worrying her, those cat ear shadows she'd seen at their sparring match…

She had a bad feeling something was up. It laid like a cold lump in the pit of her belly, making her feel sick. Her paws were numb as well as her nose, but her ears were thawed enough to hear the odd silence coming from the cave. Usually, the chatting of cats could be heard from the bottom of the slope. But all was silent, no shadows moving beyond the ivy curtain.

Pepper was flicking his tail uneasily, and his fur was starting to prickle as he noticed something was out of place. Rainstone pressed by his side, her head resting just above his shoulder as they paused outside the entrance.

It was still silent, though the scent of cat wafted out to them strong and fresh and tinged with anger. She shared a horrified glance with Pepper. "Oh no… they know…" Pepper whispered, his blue eyes staring at her with anguish.

"You have to leave!" Pepper hissed suddenly. "Before they kill you!' he begged.

Rainstone stared at him, wondering how the ground wasn't crumbling beneath her paws. Dizziness made it hard to think as she tried to process what they thought was happening. "Are you made of ice?" a growl made her raise her head to stare at their father, Hawk.

He glared at her furiously and his glare slid coldly to Pepper. "Come in now, or Whisper won't be breathing," Hawk growled.

Rainstone's belly lurched, was her friend at risk because of her? Shivering uncontrollably with fear and shock, she followed Pepper, who had started hissing angry questions at Hawk as soon as Whisper was mentioned.

He was cursing as they padded into the cave, cats lined up on either side, one was Hunter's, the other was Fighter's. Night stood at the very end on the Fighter's side, a spot next to him must be for Hawk. His amber eyes, which had been emotionless a moment before, turned bright with relief and sadness as his gaze rested on her.

Rainstone's mouth became dry and it felt like she was made of stone. She was conscious of the dozens of eyes burning into her pelt and the snickers and sinister glances cats shot each other. _They're happy to have some excitement._ The thought was almost disgusting. Except her level of disgusting had already been taken to a new level then most cats.

Her eyes swiveled, almost on cue, to Whisper, the silver she-cat's darker flecked pelt was smeared with blood. She was held pinned between Ice and Spider, her eyes glazed with pain as she crouched on the floor, her blood dripping in scarlet drops.

Rainstone swallowed hard as anger pulsed beneath her fur. _She innocent! She's done nothing wrong! And neither have I! _All of a sudden, she found she could move again and was jerked out of her fearful state.

She stared around defiantly, letting her true face be seen. Her dark eyes sparking with independence and smoldering fire. Pepper was hissing at Ice and Spider, they stood staring at him contemptuously. Hawk pushed Pepper away from his mate with a glare, warning him with a word that if he made any sudden movements Whisper would be killed.

They were herded forward until they stood in front of the two leaders. Pepper's gaze was fixed on Whisper, but Rainstone glared at Hawk and Night angrily. Night's tail flicked, his gaze was guarded again, probably for the cats he was leader for.

He stepped forward, his black fur blending in with the shadows of night. "Pepper, you have been accused of training a she-cat to fight. And, Rainstone, you have been accused of learning to fight, which is punishable by death," Night's voice trembled slightly at the end, but no cat noticed but her.

Rainstone raised her head, "Nonsense," she responded, flicking her ear dismissively.

Night blinked, opening his mouth, but Hawk broke him off. "Liar!" he spat, his fur fluffed up angrily, "Cliff saw you! He wouldn't lie, but _you_ would," Hawk growled.

Rainstone shot a cold glare at Cliff, who was watching with an amused and smug expression. The mate of her trainee being her downfall… harsh. She turned her angry look on the leaders.

"So what?" she demanded impatiently. Her tail flicking.

Night looked confused but Hawk looked venomous. "You broke the rules! You can't do that! She-cats are too dangerous to know those things, every cat knows they're half-crazy," Hawk spat.

A few cats looked uncertain, but no cat protested. Rainstone just rolled her eyes, "If any cat is crazy here, its you," she growled, glaring at her father.

Hawk snarled at her, but stepped back to allow Night to step forward. "Pepper?" Night asked calmly, "Would you like to say something?" the black leader asked, tilting his head the side to block his eyes from the gaze of the other cats. Rainstone could see he was desperate for Pepper to find a way out of this.

Pepper turned his sparking blue eyes on Night. "Let Whisper go! She's done nothing wrong!" he snarled. Hawk glared at him coldly, but Pepper glared right back, making Hawk look a little surprised, then pleased, as if he'd found a particularly good piece of prey.

"Pepper? Do you swear on your mate's life that you did not train Rainstone to fight? We already know the truth, so we will know you are lying," Hawk mewed. Some cats cackled their agreement, and Rainstone swept her glare around them, silencing them.

She'd see the sharp look Night had given Hawk, she knew they were lying about knowing the truth. Hawk was betting on Pepper's love for Whisper that he wouldn't lie and risk her life. Pepper was in such a state that he couldn't perceive the lie.

Rainstone opened her jaws to slyly tell him, but Fox, who'd been standing closest to her, bowled her over. Her mouth was stuffed with tail and she choked as she gasped for breath. His claws tore her skin, blood staining her clean fur. She tried to screech in agony as he dug his claws into her shoulders until they scraped her bone.

But her mouth was full of fur and Fox's greater weight made it impossible for her to throw him off, especially not when so many fighters stood around her. Pepper was staring at her in horror, she understood. He felt like he had to choose between the life of his mate and the life of his sister.

She caught his eyes and tried to relay, _Save Whisper! I'll be fine! I'll find a way out!_ Pepper seemed to understand, though he still looked scared out of his fur for her. Pepper faced Hawk gravely.

"I did train Rainstone how to fight and hunt," he mewed quietly, but it echoed in the silence, the only sound coming from Rainstone's muffled gasps.

"I knew it!" Hawk purred triumphantly. "Uh… release Whisper," Hawk ordered. As Ice and Spider stepped back, Whisper stumbled over to Pepper and he met her, purring with relief, though his eyes stayed worried as he glanced at her.

Hawk had watched them coldly, then flicked his tail and they stepped apart. "Pepper, as punishment for your crimes, you will be denied your right to leadership, as will your first-born son, Blizzard. Instead, Sun will become leader after me," Hawk announced.

Rainstone glanced at him, able to breath since Fox had pulled away his tail and claws, though he kept a firm grip on her shoulders. Pepper looked almost relived, she remembered that he'd never really wanted to be leader.

She couldn't help but glance at Sun, who stood by his brother, their eyes glazed, though she could see how angry they were. Their anger not directed at her, but at the cats that had harmed their mother and father's sister.

She met Sun's burning eyes, they spat fire and he was almost glaring. Not at all the normal look of a cat just promised leadership. She wondered if he'd heard at all.

Fox got off her and shoved her to her paws. She stood up, stumbling a bit from her wounds that stung like fire. He tripped her and pushed her in front of Hawk and Night. She rolled over, her blood smearing the stone.

She stood up, facing them with the same face of defiance, though she was exhausted. Night looked impressed, but Hawk was less so. "Rainstone," his voice was colder then ice, "In punishment, you will be put to death, immediately."

Rainstone blinked as the yipping, cheering, and snarls sprung up from the toms behind her. For a moment it was just her and her father, staring at each other with uncontrollable fury. The ground cracking between them and splitting into a chasm so large she knew they'd never reach each other again.

Then the moment was passed and she was being seized and thrown on the ground, a tom holding each of her legs out stretched out like a flying squirrel. She stared up at Night, he was supposed to give the death blow.

He padded over her, moving with dreamlike slowness. He unsheathed his claws and slid them through her fur, reaching up for her neck. She stared at him, eyes wide and daring, was he really going to do this?

She gasped in sudden understanding, was she really going to die at this moment? She supposed this was her retribution for trying her luck… it obviously wasn't on her side.

Then suddenly Night froze, his eyes stretching wide with excitement, an idea flashing in his amber eyes. He stepped back and flicked his tail. "Stop!" he commanded. The cats holding her down flooded away and silence fell as every cat stared at Night.

Hawk glared at him, "You aren't thinking of letting her get away with this?" the hunter leader snarled. _My own father, advocating for my death,_ she thought dryly.

Night looked at him with annoyance, "Of course not," he mewed, flicking his tail toward her contemptuously. "She will die, but not now. I will not kill my kits, one which could possibly be leader," Night mewed.

Rainstone didn't move, she understood crystal clearly. By saying she would have kits, it'd give her time to get away. _Smart, how did I not think of it myself?_ Though she knew she'd have to act fast, it wouldn't be long before some cats noticed she actually wasn't expecting kits.

Hawk narrowed his eyes, staring at her coldly from where she'd heaved herself to her paws. "Droplet, check her," Hawk ordered abruptly. Obviously he wasn't taking Night's word for it.

Her mother padded toward her, Rainstone stared at her. She hadn't talked to her mother for seasons, though the light of love had never faded even a little from when she was a kit, her soft gray eyes still shone bright. She breathed in the familiar scent, it was even mingled with milk as she came closer to kitting.

A thought crossed her mind, _why doesn't Hawk just give leadership to one of his new kits?_ Then she remembered, he didn't know for sure if he'd have any tom kits, he might change it when they came.

She felt Droplets smooth paws feel her belly and she suddenly froze. She _wasn't_ expecting kits, she knew she wasn't, would her mother lie for her? Droplet sat back after a moment with a sigh, Rainstone stared at her beseechingly.

She met her mother's soft gray eyes, begging her silently. Droplet gave the smallest of nods, her eyes drenched with fear and sorrow. "She's expecting kits," Droplet announced.

Night's ear twitched and he gave her a questioning glance. She gave a tiny shake of her head and Night nodded.

He turned to Hawk, "You should trust me more, I wouldn't lie for a she-cat," he sniffed.

Hawk nodded with a growl. "Fine, when you've kitted, you will be killed. Until then, you will remain under guard in the fighter's kit-den," her father growled at her.

Rainstone was then abruptly thrown in the specified den. It was empty, she supposed the other kits would be moving to the other kit-den which had been empty. _Why not just put me in there?_ she wondered, licking her wounds.

She knew why, this one was more easily guarded and the entrance more easily seen. She stalked around the small space. It was warm and had a milky tang to it. She padded around, waiting for something to happen, though she was quite tired.

She pricked her ears at the light pattering of paws. She sighed and touched noses with Night as he padded in. "Nice thinking," she muttered in his ear, too quiet for whoever was guarding to hear.

"Its better then you not thinking at all," Night retorted annoyingly. "Didn't we make an agreement? That you would follow the rules and I'd fix things up with Pepper?" he pressed.

Rainstone flicked an ear. "I do recall something like that," she muttered guiltily.

Night flicked his tail, "You realize you've ruined it? Pepper won't be leader now and no cat will want to change anything after this, there will be no support even if Sun becomes leader," Night growled.

Rainstone closed her eyes. She'd ruined it all! She'd wanted to help, but she'd ruined it! She sighed, was that what Song had meant? Was that her path had taken her away from fixing things? Was she originally meant to fix it? And she'd failed with her impatience?

Misery and failure crashed down on her, threatening to sweep her away. Even her life would be gone soon, no longer then half a moon before every cat realized she wasn't expecting kits.

She stared at Night, "I'm so sorry," she whispered, "I ruined everything with my idiotism," she whimpered.

She was almost surprised when Night pressed against her and purred gently in her ear. "Don't worry about that, right now we've got to focus on getting you out of the mountains," Night mewed.

Rainstone nodded, glad he was able to take charge, she didn't know if she could to save her life. _Funny, that's exactly the situation I'm in._

"First, we've got to get you expecting kits," Night mewed, padding back and forth.

Rainstone glared at him, "Really? Its not going to happen you know," she snapped.

"I've been thinking-"

"That's dangerous," Rainstone interrupted, but Night swept on.

"You've only not been able to have kits because you don't respond to it, you're like stone, that's the real reason I stopped mating you know," Night mewed.

"So what do I have to do?" Rainstone snapped, not liking where this was going.

"You have to relax and enjoy it, go with the flow, and don't stress out afterwards," Night mewed.

Rainstone flicked her ears, not knowing if she could do that. "What else do we have to do?" she knew getting her to expect kits must be to buy time.

"That's all you need to know, the less, the better, but don't worry, I'll work it all out," Night mewed, looking at her with such confidence she found she had no doubt that he'd keep up to his word. He loved her.

Her heart tugged, it wasn't much, but it was more then she'd ever felt. She stepped forward and pushed her muzzle against his, forcing the feeling to grow until it blossomed through her.

She focused on that feeling, ignoring him rolling her onto her back… ignoring the mating. She relaxed and purred softly, focusing fiercely on the feeling even when it was all over. But it hurt that when she closed her eyes, instead of Night's pine sap eyes, she saw Scamp's bright sunset ones.

_ I'm glad he can't read my thoughts… glad he doesn't know I'm pretending he's Scamp to get through it… It'd break his heart and he doesn't deserve that. Its not his retribution, but mine._

**...**

**Finally****! getting things moving along a bit more. This is where the fun starts coming in. *evil look* Any reader of my stories knows what that means ;)**

**Please Review! I'm serious. **


	16. Chapter 15: Missing Or Dead

**Hello! I was finnaly able to update! have had this done since the day I last updated. The hardest part is always proof-reading...**

**REVIEWS You did better! congrats for everyone who reviewed! **

**"Crowstar54"- Haha, yeah, it describes lots of people I think. **

**"Leviathan48"- Yep! and I really love writing real fun!**

**Sunfire- Well, if everything was peachy keen, then I probably wouldn't like writing the story.**

**"ShadowQuest2000"- Yeah, I feel like that way to often ;)**

**"Silverblaze72"- Yeah, he can use that head of his when he wants to!**

**Anova00- Aw, thanks!**

**"The Spirit That Comes At Night"- Thanks! I hope it does.**

**Dawnfeather- Maybe...**

**Mousydragonwolf- Yeah, I don't know how many kits she'd have, but I'm thinking three(ish).**

**"Booklady1017"- Thank you!**

**"luna-umbrae"- Thanks! I don't like stories that sound predictable or familiar. Original things are best. And I had to try really hard to remember to interact with other characters! its nice to have someone appreciate it!**

**Shadowed Frost- Haha, thanks! Now the REAL good fun is gonna start! **

**Chapter 15: Missing** **Or Dead**

Half a moon passed. Rainstone found she was expecting kits, lucky her. The days were cold and dark; lonely as well. She was either hungry, aching, or moody. Always uncomfortable, never happy. Not many cats visited her, though Sun would still come and ask her for prank ideas in an attempt to cheer her up, which he usually just barely managed.

She'd tried to dream, tried to reach Song, but the closest she got was a whiff of the scent. But her belly was beginning to be heavy and the air was starting to warm. Life went on even if she wasn't a part of it. That's why she was shocked when Night suddenly visited her and told her something that turned everything upside down.

"I leave tonight?" she gasped, eyes wide.

Night nodded, "I've got it all arranged, you need to get out while you have time to settle yourself somewhere to have our kits," Night mewed. His eyes softened with sorrow and wistfulness as he stroked her growing belly with his tail.

She felt guilty that, by leaving, she was depriving Night of his kits. She'd also been anxious, could she care for their kits by herself in strange territory? What if something happened? She'd be all alone. Even if she didn't like the cave rules, the safety and protection was well welcomed.

"Where will I go?" Rainstone mewed quietly, worry biting her belly. Images of the stretches of endless territory she'd seen from the mountaintops daunted her.

"You'll head west, toward the setting sun, between the last two mountains we visited," Night mewed.

Rainstone flicked her tail, "That's where those rogues live," she muttered.

"But you know how to fight now," Night mewed with an edge to his tone. It was because she knew how to fight that this was happening.

Rainstone shrugged, "Fine, when tonight?" she asked, trying to shake off her doubt.

"Sun is assigned to guard you this evening… When every cat has gone to sleep, Pepper will come and get you," Night mewed.

"You won't be getting me yourself?" Rainstone asked, faintly surprised, and hurt.

Night shook his head regretfully, "Hawk is already suspicious of me," he murmured quietly.

"But he's suspicious of Pepper, is it a good idea to drag him further into this?" Rainstone asked.

"It has to be this way, we can't trust any other cats," Night mewed impatiently.

"What about Blizzard?" Rainstone asked.

"He's just as bad as Pepper, and I've already briefed Pepper on what he has to do," Night mewed.

Rainstone felt a flicker of unease, she didn't want Pepper or Whisper to get in any more trouble for her. "Fine," she agreed curtly.

Night flicked his tail, "Pepper will take you to the border in that direction, then you will be on your own," Rainstone saw the flicker of fear in his eyes and she purred reassuringly.

"Its okay, I can handle myself," Rainstone mewed quietly.

Night nodded, brushing his chin along the top of her head as if she was still a kit. "I'll come with Pepper to say goodbye and give you some extra prey. You should rest until then, you'll need your energy both for yourself and for our kits," Night mewed softly.

Rainstone felt a rush of affection for her mate. "Thank you, so much," she whispered, licking his ear.

Night purred, trembling a little. He lowered his head to stare straight in her eyes. "When you leave, I'll have to take another mate, so that we can have kits and my legacy will go on," he mewed carefully.

Rainstone felt a surge of envy flash through her momentarily, but she dipped her head to hide it. "I know," she mewed, willing her voice not to express emotion, though she was shaking on the inside.

"Do you have a cat in mind?" she asked quietly when she'd gotten control of her voice.

"I think I'll take Tinge, she reminds me of you… And Sleet won't mind waiting for a new she-cat, he's gotten bored of her by now," Night mewed casually.

Rainstone blinked, why didn't she love Night? He obviously loved her, would things have been different if she had? But now… she'd never get the chance to find out… Never get the chance to know what happened to her kin and friends, never seeing Whisper, Sun, Pepper, and even Night again made her heart cry.

But she had to leave. Had to find a new path. For her sake, and her kits. She'd start her own family, watch them grow, maybe she'd even find Scamp… The thought gave her courage.

"I'll see you when its time," Night mewed finally. Rainstone nodded and curled down to sleep, not noticing the anguished look of love he gave her as he padded out.

**Night's POV**

Why didn't she love him? She cared for him, but it wasn't love. Not like he felt for her. He remembered the first time he'd seen he., Dark gray fur ruffled and torn, dark blue eyes wide with admiration. He'd felt a spark, a longing to have her gaze at him with something more then admiration.

That had never happened, her admiration turned to loathing almost immediately, chaffing at the life she'd been set on with no choice. Why couldn't she have just been happy and content? He took good care of her, kept the other toms away, gave her more freedom then any other she-cat other then possibly Whisper.

But no, he'd seen in her eyes as they stood on every single mountaintop the width of her gaze. She saw further, imagined more, and understood more then any other cat. She was different, she seemed to know things she shouldn't have. Had a hunger for things she couldn't have here.

And that word… _ancestors._ It'd struck his heart, he'd asked every cat in the cave what it meant, but no cat knew. He could tell from the way she said it that it was important, powerful, maybe dangerous… It'd scared him as much as it had enthralled him.

Now he lay in his round nest of feathers, it felt empty without Rainstone. Her defiant personality which commanded respect had filled _him_ with admiration. Her dark eyes, the gleaming black gaze, pulled all his attention to her.

She never gave up, never stopped believing, never stopped trying. But she'd tried too hard. And now he was going to lose her and his kits. _Will I see them again?_ He swore that he wouldn't give up the hope that Rainstone would return someday until he saw her dead body with his own eyes.

But now the shadows were all he could see and the sounds outside his den had ceased. It was time for Rainstone to disappear. As he got to his paws, he already felt as if something was missing.

**End of Night's POV**

Rainstone jerked awake, blinking groggily at the blackness that persisted to press down on her. In a moment, she remembered what Night had told her and she jumped to her paws, recognizing Sun, Pepper, and Night standing in front of her.

Night dropped a large mouse in front of her. She twitched her ears as she heard a roaring. "What's that?" she asked, eating the mouse ravenously.

"A blizzard," was the grim reply.

Rainstone shivered, would she not be leaving tonight then? "Are we still doing this?" she muttered.

It was too dark to see any inclinations they might have made. "Its up to you," Sun mewed finally.

Rainstone hesitated, if she didn't leave now, she might not get to leave at all. "Okay, lets go." She mewed, refusing to let her voice show doubt.

After a hasty and sorrowful goodbye with Night and Sun, she thought she'd miss Sun the most. Pepper led her out of the cave and quickly across the snowy valley. She remembered the last time they'd been that way, having a snow fight which had left them laughing carelessly.

Things had changed so fast. The blizzard, although it blew her around like she was a feather, wasn't snowing too heavily and a faint gleam of the full moon gave her enough light to see Pepper's white patches in front of her.

All too soon they'd stopped at the border, a stream that had refused to freeze trickled along with a faint splashing. "So, what now?" Rainstone asked, her teeth chattering.

Pepper turned toward her, his blue eyes gleamed with fear and sadness. "We have to part, just walk in the stream for awhile so as not to leave a scent," Pepper mewed.

Rainstone blinked, "Just like that?" she asked, her voice trembling, and not from cold.

Pepper blinked slowly, "Yes, I'll scratch myself up a bit and say that when I took you on a walk you attacked me and I killed you, then your body fell in the stream," Pepper mewed.

Rainstone felt cold, "So I won't be missing, I'll be _dead,"_ she mewed, shivering. She dreaded to think what Whisper or any of her friends would think about that. _What about Half?_ she shivered, Half would be broken. The kit had already gone half-mad over her sentence to death.

"T-Take care, Pepper. I'll miss you," Rainstone's voice broke with sadness as she looked at her littermate for what was probably the last time. She felt as if nothing could go well if she looked away, and everything would be alright as long as she held her brother's gaze.

_ He always comforted me, always helped me, tried to keep me safe, did what I asked. He talked with me when I was mad, he kept me from doing wrong things, he let me rant to him about his friends and our father. He always put me before himself. If only I could have done the same…_

But there was nothing she could do change anything now. She had to leave, or stay and die. Even a chance at life was better then nothing. Pepper leaned in and licked her ear. "Maybe we'll see each other again some day," he mewed, her own sadness reflected in his voice.

Rainstone purred lightly and pressed her nose to his. "Watch for me in the stars," she murmured. Then she padded into the stream. She'd thought her paws had already been numb, but the stream… It must have been colder then ice!

She shivered, her paws pulsing with pain that made her groan. Almost as soon as she'd left Pepper behind in the shadows, the snow picked up until she could hardly see a whisker length in front of her. She slipped on a loose stone, gasping as her haunches went under.

She let out a cry and jumped out, but the snow was hardly any better. It matted on her wet paws and haunches until she was stumbling blind and senseless in the blinding snow.

_ Am I going to die anyways?!_ It seemed so, her heartbeat slowing in her chest and her eyelids getting heavy. She knew that if she fell asleep in such cold conditions she wouldn't be waking up.

The snow piled up as she struggled along, virtually blind. She felt as if she was being buried alive, the snow almost to her belly. _At least I haven't walked of the mountain, yet._ Her grim thoughts were interrupted by a faint sound… a yowl, a familiar yowl.

"Song?!" she called through the roaring storm.

She couldn't make out the words, but she thought she saw a flicker of a black silhouette at the top of a rise. She turned toward there, stumbling on her lifeless paws.

By the time she reached the place, Song, or the cat, had disappeared. _Great, now I'm even more lost! _She thought angrily. Then she stiffened, looking over her shoulder.

"Hey! You! What are you doing outside in this weather?! You must be crazy! Get in here right now or you'll freeze to death!" the voice definitely wasn't Song's, it was young and impatient, biting with annoyance.

But Rainstone stumbled toward it thankfully, getting the heavy scent of cat rolling toward her along with warmth as she felt the cat brush against her. "Wait, what?" the cat mewed in her ear, though Rainstone couldn't see it. "Are you expecting kits?! You really are crazy to go out on a night like this," the cat muttered, pushing her forward.

"I-I had to leave," Rainstone mewed, blood dripping from her dry mouth. Had her mouth become so cold and dry that it was bleeding? She was in really bad shape… Not that she had enough energy to care.

The cat had snorted and then pushed her down into something. Rainstone stumbled, feeling warmth, like a wall of pain, rush over her as she fell through into a dug out in a small hill who's entrance was mostly covered by rock with only a thin slit to scramble in and out of.

The pain in her body made her purr, it meant nothing was frozen, except for her right fore-paw, it continued to be numb. The cat, a she-cat, slid down besides her and started licking her fur the wrong way as she flopped down on the floor, her purr of relief echoing.

She was barely conscious enough to feel two more pairs of tongues and paws start helping her rescuer. But it felt good, better then anything had felt in days. And she was too tired to think about her grief of leaving all she knew.

"So, what's your name?" the she-cat asked as she drifted to sleep.

"Rainstone," was the almost inaudible reply.

"What's your story? You aren't just out in a blizzard like this for fun," the she-cat continued.

Rainstone managed to twitch her ear in annoyance. She just wanted to sleep! Couldn't the cat wait until later? But the more conscious part of her mind knew the she-cat was trying to keep her awake until she was warm enough.

"I'm missing… or dead, either story works for me," Rainstone murmured.

The she-cat hummed an answer, "Well, you sleep now, we're discuss more tomorrow," the she-cat murmured, curling down by her side to keep her warm.

Rainstone sighed and was asleep in a heartbeat.

…

"She failed! The cave cats will be completely lost before three generations have passed!" a cat yowled, its voice echoing around the stone hollow where all the ancestors of the cave cats gathered.

"We have to get her to go back!" one cat yowled.

"No! Then she will be killed and there will still be no hope!" another cat argued.

The argument went on in such a manner. Then a cat stood up from where she'd been sitting on the round rock in the middle of the red-brown stone hollow.

The cats quieted. "Song?" one cat asked from the bottom, "What do you think?"

Song hesitated before replying. "Just because Rainstone isn't with the cats doesn't make it impossible for her legacy to change something," Song mewed quietly, though it rang with authority.

"But she hasn't done anything for the cave cats but drive them further apart!" a cat protested, the tom's claws scraped on the floor.

"Jump," Song mewed coolly, "This whole problem sprouted from yours and your brother's decisions, don't act like its all her fault," Song mewed.

Jump hung his head, ashamed. "I _meant_ that her kits may change something if she doesn't, her legacy living on in her kits," Song explained. "Legacy,' can mean many different things," she mewed.

"What do you suppose we must do to help then?" a cat asked.

Song stretched herself to full height. "I will follow Rainstone out of our territory, I will continue to guide her to where she needs to go, as I did tonight," she mewed, flicking her tail at the icy sheeted rock by her paws where an image of Rainstone curled next to her mortal rescuer in warmth and safety.

Yowls of protest broke around her. "You can't leave us alone!" a cat cried.

Song flicked her black tail in annoyance, "Are you mice or cats? You will be fine without me, keep watching, bringing the dying cats here, and trying to help in every possible way, we will break through to them one day," Song mewed encouragingly. They didn't know that she was clinging to her own words as much as they were.

A few cats still muttered mutinously and most cats looked unhappy or uneasy, but no cat protested. Song leaped down and padded away, ready to start following uncharted skies to help Rainstone. She paused and looked over her shoulder at the many cats, the hundreds of pairs of shining eyes, stars sparkling at their paws and fur.

"I will return someday," she promised. "But now Rainstone is missing in the world, and she must be found again soon. Before she becomes dead to the world." And with that, Song leaped out of view and was lost from sight.

**...**

**I'll admit, even if it was a little boring, I LOVED this chapter! I usually don't like re-reading my chapters since I'm always like 'oh, I should change that, but I'm too lazy and then I'd have to change that as well,' but I thought everything was perfectly in its place this time. **

**Please Review! **


	17. Chapter 16: Beginning Again

**So hello! Enjoy this slightly shorter chapter**

**"Leviathan48"- I know, right?**

**"Crowstar54"- Yeah, kind of. **

**"Swiftstar of ThunderClan"- Thanks! and I couldn't tell ya, I take this one chapter at a time.**

**"StarclanIsWithUs"- Thanks for the names! Though i'm not sure where I'll use them... Can I turn them into Clan names?**

**"Booklady1017"- Me too!**

**"ShadowQuest2000"- Yep, what's success without failure?**

**"ShadowedFrost"- Thanks!  
><strong>

**"CrystalStar Of LightClan"- Soon enough?**

**Dawnfeather- Yep, too many people take freedom for granted...**

**Mouseydragonwolf- Thanks!**

**Chapter 16: Beginning Again**

When Rainstone woke the next morning, she saw she was staring into three pairs of eyes. Two green pairs and an amber pair. She laughed half nervously, half self-consciously. "Hello," she mewed, slightly confused, and blinked up at them.

They sat back and allowed her to roll herself onto her belly. She stiffened as she realized something was wrong. She shook her front right paw, she didn't feel anything and it lolled uselessly. "What's wrong with my paw?!" her voice shrill with fear as she stared at the wide, soft paw.

"I think its frozen, you won't be able to use it again," the voice, although edgy, was toned with sympathy. Rainstone looked up at the she-cat, she recognized her as she cat who had brought her to the den last night.

But that wasn't what made Rainstone gasp. It was the same she-cat she'd fought while traveling on the final assessment with Night! The she-cat's unruly dark brown fur had golden brown dapples, as if she was spotted with dust.

"My name is Dusty," the she-cat introduced, then swept her tail toward the two other cats, the two toms they'd fought. "And this is Pummel and Stretch," Dusty mewed, a little annoyance in her voice as the two toms shouldered each other for the better spot.

"Hello!" they chorused. Rainstone dipped her head awkwardly, wondering if they recognized her. Pummel was the gray and white tom with green eyes, Stretch was the skinny brown tabby tom with amber eyes.

The two toms were slightly smaller then Dusty, making her think they were younger, close to her age, the two were probably littermates. But Dusty had the same shade of green eyes as Pummel, she wondered if she was from an older litter.

"Hey! I know you, you crossed through our territory last summer," Pummel mewed, his green eyes gleaming.

"Summer?" Rainstone echoed.

"Warm season," Stretch inserted.

"Yeah, you were with that fighting black cat," Pummel chatted on. Rainstone shot a quick glance at Dusty. The she-cat definitely didn't look surprised. _She already guessed._

"Yeah," Rainstone mewed slowly.

"Well, what are you doing back here?" Stretch asked, leaning his striped muzzle toward her.

"Er… passing through," Rainstone mewed.

"Why were you traveling so late at night? And in a blizzard?" Pummel asked, jumping up and putting his paws on Stretch's head, forcing his brother to the ground as he leaned in closer.

"Good cover," Rainstone mewed, shuffling back a pace as Stretch pulled backwards and Pummel rolled forward.

"So, Rainstone, why did you say you were missing or dead?' Dusty spoke up, eyeing her with curiosity and wariness.

"Because I'm supposed to be dead to some cats, and missing to others," Rainstone growled, not really wanting to fully explain why that was so. Lucky for her, Dusty didn't seem inclined to ask.

"I've heard rumors of the cats in the caves, bad things really," Dusty shot a glance at the two toms who had started bickering, as if she didn't want them to hear. "I hear they treat she-cats poorly," Dusty murmured in her ear.

Rainstone gave a curt nod, still not wanting to say anything. Dusty turned away from her, "Well," she mewed, addressing the two toms, "If you have enough energy to fight, then you have enough energy to hunt. And hurry back, Crystal is visiting us today," Dusty mewed to the two toms.

They nodded and headed out, pushing for who got out first though the small slit opening. Dusty watched them with an affectionate look in her eyes. Was she really their mother? "Your family, right?" Rainstone mewed, not wanting to make an assumption.

Dusty nodded, giving her pelt a few quick licks. "They're my younger brothers, they came with me when I moved into the mountains. Our sister, Crystal, stays with mom, but comes and visits once at the full moon when the weather's good," Dusty explained.

Rainstone nodded, "Are you full siblings? Or just half-siblings?" she asked.

"Half-siblings, we had different fathers. I never knew mine, and Pummel, Stretch, and Crystal's died of sickness not long after I moved into the mountains," Dusty mewed.

_ Sounds like a half-broken family._ Rainstone thought. Though Dusty didn't look broken, in fact, she looked more at ease then Rainstone had ever imagined possible. _They have a home…_ loneliness pulled at her. She already missed all her friends back in the cave.

Was Sun pulling a prank now? Was Night out on patrol? Were Pepper and Whisper gossiping? _But you're not alone, you have your kits._ She reminded herself, she could feel the little kits moving about in her, awoken by her sudden movements.

A sudden thought pricked her. "Where does your mother and your sister, Crystal, live?" she asked.

"Just outside the mountains," Dusty answered.

"Does it take long to get there?" Rainstone asked.

"Crystal usually manages it in once day… And so do Pummel and Stretch when they visit mother,' Dusty answered.

Rainstone twitched her ears. "Do you visit your mother?" she asked.

"Rarely, I never got along well with her… I don't think she likes having me around," Dusty murmured.

Rainstone shrugged. "How long does Crystal usually stay, before heading back?" she asked.

Dusty tilted her head to the side, "Only a few days. She might want to leave sooner though, before another blizzard rolls about, it will be hard enough for her after the one last night," Dusty mewed.

Rainstone pricked her ears, for the first time realizing that only a few faint flurries showered down outside, weak sunlight shining on the fresh powder. She stood up, trembling as she tried to put weight on her frozen paw. It shook and turned out, so she balanced herself on three paws, her frozen one held limply.

"How am I supposed to get anywhere with this paw?!" she hissed angrily at no cat.

Dusty flicked her muzzle with her tail. "You'll have to learn to use it a bit. If you get it to a limp, it'll work, well enough, anyways," Dusty mewed.

So they spent the morning trying to figure out how Rainstone could set her paw down in such a way that she could limp, or more exactly, fall forward, with her other paw to catch her. Rainstone hissed, it was tiring and awkward, but she supposed she'd get used to it. She just hoped that her paw would get better, though Dusty said it wouldn't ever get better.

_ As long as it doesn't get worse,_ Rainstone thought with annoyance. By sun-high Stretch and Pummel had returned, each with two pieces of prey. The two littermates tussled over a rabbit while Dusty got a mouse for her and Rainstone.

Eventually, the two littermates shared the rabbit and quiet fell as they ate. But it wasn't a tense quiet like in the cave, it was a comfortable silence, filled with a sense of family. Rainstone had never felt it before, only a flicker of it when she was with Pepper.

Just as they finished eating, an unfamiliar call sounded from outside the den. Rainstone pricked her ears while Dusty led Pummel and Stretch out, purring, into the cold frosty air. Wanting to know what was going on, though she'd already guessed, she limped to the entrance and peered out.

Because the den was dug into the ground, she only saw four pairs of paws, the new set was a pair of fluffy white paws that blended in with the snow.

A moment later she tumbled back as the four cats hustled into the den, shaking snow from their paws and pelts. The new cat was a majestic long-furred white she-cat with three small black spots. One on her front leg, one on her head that stretched up onto her ear, and the last and largest, on her right flank and spine. Her eyes reminded Rainstone of sun shining on ice, except they were blue, like blue ice.

"Oh, Crystal, this is Rainstone, she was stuck in the blizzard last night and is passing through," Pummel mewed, pushing up against the she-cat. Rainstone realized how alike their bodies were, the same tight muscles and lengthy tails. They were obviously kin.

"How are you?" Crystal greeted her cheerfully, her eyes shone with friendliness.

"I'm well, how are you?" Rainstone returned, purring politely.

"I'm doing well too!" Crystal purred, then she turned back to her family and started giving them news. Rainstone began to feel like an intruder on the family and shifted awkwardly.

When they'd finally finished chatting, the light was beginning to fade and Crystal said something that caught her attention. "I'm only staying through the night, mother wants me back soon," Crystal mewed, blinking apologetically at the disappointment on her siblings faces.

"Hey!" Stretch spoke up, his fur bristling with excitement. "How about me and Pummel go see mother? We haven't been there for two moons!" Stretch mewed. Pummel yowled his agreement.

"Hey, why don't you come with us Dusty?" Pummel mewed, turning his green eyes on his older sister.

Dusty shifted her paws uncertainty. "I don't know, I don't like to leave the place all alone, who will fight off rogues when they try to take it?" Dusty mewed.

"Oh, come on! You worry too much! What idiot is even going to be wandering around without a home this time of the season?" Stretch mewed.

Rainstone bristled and growled. Stretch glanced at her and looked embarrassed. "I-I didn't mean you, Rainstone," he muttered while Pummel swatted him with his tail.

"And that's another thing, I can't leave Rainstone right now, its going to be a while before she's able to hunt on that bad paw of hers, and especially while she's expecting kits," Dusty mewed.

"Oh!" Crystal broke in, squealing like a kit and dashed over to Rainstone. "You're expecting kits?! I can't wait to see them!" Crystal gushed.

Rainstone licked her fur awkwardly. "I'm really looking forward to them," she lied. She didn't know the first thing about being a mother and how to care for her kits and herself! She hadn't even managed one night before needing help.

"Though, actually," she mewed, straightening up and looking at Dusty. "I'm heading out of the mountains. I-I think it'd be safer for me to travel with you guys then all alone," she mewed hesitantly, not wanting to sound like she needed them. _Though_ _you do_, she thought with a twinge of annoyance.

Dusty hesitated then sighed. "If you're going, then you're going to need some help. Fine, we'll all leave tomorrow at dawn," Dusty decided with a small sigh. Though she purred as the three littermates cheered.

Rainstone rested her head on her paws with a small sigh. Things were working out well, and soon she would be out of the mountains and in a safe place to have her kits.

**…**

They woke early the next morning, the first pale streaks of light just appearing on the indigo stained sky. The few brightest stars still shone, but the moon had set and the chirping of mountain birds hadn't filled the valley yet. Rainstone spotted a lone figure circling the sky above her. _Eagle,_ she thought, they'd have to be careful and watch it.

The snow, like white powdered clouds, lay thickly on the ground, going as high as her legs, in some places even covering her back. She struggled out the first few paw-steps, her odd and awkward limp making her sway and tremble like a kit first learning to walk.

Crystal, Stretch, and Pummel jumped ahead of her, kicking up the soft snow and tumbling around with yowls of delight. Their carefree cheerfulness seemed to warm the frozen air. Rainstone watched them wistfully, she'd been like that just a moon ago. But now she felt older then the mountains.

Dusty fell in by her right side with the frozen-dead paw, ready to catch her if she fell. Rainstone bristled slightly, wanting to snap she could take care of herself. But with the extra weight in her belly and the snow piled around her, she was secretly relived for the help.

Dusty's green gaze never left the invisible trail they padded along. Her green eyes shone with thought and nervousness. Rainstone wondered why Dusty seemed so reluctant to see her mother while the three littermates could hardly contain themselves.

But Rainstone didn't question her, after all, hadn't it been her father that had wanted her dead so badly? She definitely wouldn't want to see him ever again. _Not that I even get a choice,_ she thought sadly, looking over her shoulder at the snow-white valley.

Just there, along the tallest mountain ridge, she could see the flash of green that betrayed where the cave was. It was just a tiny speck, three dark spots mingling outside, either going hunting or patrolling. She swallowed hard, would she be missed? She doubted it, every cat would move on, even Night and Pepper would forget her in time. It'd be just like she'd never existed. Her dreams of being important had vanished on the night when she was discovered.

"Are you coming?" Dusty asked. Rainstone looked ahead to see the dappled brown cat looking at her with impatient eyes. Rainstone had halted in her sad ponderings.

"Y-yeah," Rainstone stuttered, limping heavily up to her. They continued up the mountain ridge that surrounded the valley. The sparse forestland gave way to clear snow, probably there was grass or stone underneath.

Rainstone panted, struggling to keep her footing on the icy snow as the slope grew steeper. Dusty padded beside her, watching her carefully. The three littermates were already at the top, pointing out landmarks with wild flicks of their tails.

Rainstone gasped as she put her dead paw down and it slipped out from under her. Dusty caught her with her shoulder and straightened her up quickly. "Thanks," Rainstone muttered, Dusty nodded in response.

When they reached the top of the slope, Rainstone paused to look back at the valley as Dusty decided to give them a moment to rest after the climb. The valley was full of sparkling white, speckles of brown showed where a few trees were. Her heart ached as she recognized the one with the willow tree where her herbs grew.

She'd never go there again. The rolling hills and blinding snow hid most everything else from view, but Rainstone could just make out the bubbling stream where the water refused to freeze, it shimmered glistening silver in the sunlight. _It guided me here._

By now the sun was half-way up the sky, climbing steadily higher. And the breeze that blew up from the valley was cold and heavy. But it smelled like home and everything she'd ever known. _I'm leaving behind…everything._

The thought was like a rock to her chest, filling her with fear and anxiety about the unknown, but also a wild sense of daring adventure of finding and trying new things and making her own life all by herself.

Then she looked over the uncrossed land, she'd gazed at it before, but it was still breathtaking. The gentle slopes and hills of the valley ending in narrow passages, sharp peaks, unfriendly gray rock, and white snow blowing like fog over the chasms.

Pummel had already led Crystal and Stretch down, squealing like excited kits on their first time out into the world. Dusty had padded down a few steps, then looked over at her with questioning green eyes.

"Are you ready?" the voice hardly seemed to be Dusty's, instead it mingled with another… An ancient rasp that was smoothed like sand washing over stone.

Rainstone took one last deep breath from her home, breathing in the scents of Whisper, Pepper, Night, and Sun. Then let it out, blowing them away from her like the wind. "Yes, Song, I am ready," she whispered, then started down the slope, feeling her past melt away at her paw-steps like cobwebs in the warm sun.

_ It is time to begin again._

**...**

**Well, I really liked this chapter! How about you? uh...The next chapter _might_ be delayed, since I'll have extra house-work this weekend (putting up Christmas decorations means more cleaning first) But I'll try to get it up quickly!**

**Please Review!**


	18. Chapter 17: Danger in Safety

**Hello! I'm so, so, so, sorry for the lack of updates! been busy and confused**

**REVIEWS**

**"Leviathan48"- Yeah, I like things that way**

**"Booklady1017"- Thanks! (and sorry I haven't been reading your story, I'm searching for the time!)**

**Dawnfeather- Yeah, I like travelling.**

**"Anova00"- I'm a teen, I just still help my family in cleaning and decorating. I think I might use your cats as Clan cats... if that'd be okay. **

**"CrystalStar Of LightClan"- Thank you!**

**"ShadowQuest2000"- Haha! I know, right? I'd like to be successful without failure, too bad that won't happen...**

**"Moonbeam141"- Thank you! **

**pianodevotoin- I was considering that...**

**"Silverblaze72"- Thanks! and I decided she needed some morale support for this time...**

**"StarclanIsWithUs"- Oh! uh, no, that wouldn't work, sorry! You'll understand when I write it.**

**Mouseydragonwolf- Thanks! and yeah... I did. **

**Guest- I am ashamed.**

**Chapter 17: Danger in Safety**

All day the cats trekked, hampered by Rainstone's slow pace and her rests that kept becoming longer and more frequent. Rainstone felt exhausted, her rounded belly mixing with her new limp made the journey almost intolerable.

_ At least there's no snow to slip on,_ she thought, trying to feel optimistic like the three littermates chatting just ahead of her. The hard gray snow was cold bare beneath her paws, Dusty said the snow just blew right off in the relentless up and down drafts that were constantly buffeting their fur.

Sun-high came and went, the last familiar mountain ridge disappeared behind them, unfamiliar and dangerous spiky points and sheer cliffs took its place. The thin, crumbly trail that was pressed against a stone face on one side, and a steep black drop on the other was all Rainstone could concentrate on.

Dusty padded just behind her, keeping one eye on the sky for any preying birds and one on Rainstone, watching her shambling steps with a sharp eye. Rainstone tried to ignore that, as well as the fact that one slip could leave her tumbling over the edge to her doom.

_ Just focus on one step after another,_ she told herself, keeping her eyes fixed on the ground right in front of her, her ears pricked for any sound of danger. But she could still feel the drop, watching, waiting, silently willing her to trip right into its waiting depths.

Rainstone fought of her exhaustion with her quiet concentration, releasing a sigh of relief as they at last padded out of the narrow passage and down onto a long-stretched valley filled with snow.

"Just past here is the final slope," Crystal mewed encouragingly. Rainstone looked up at the sky. The weak warmth of the sun had disappeared as the light fell behind the crags in front of them. The shadows lengthening and the last whispery strands of orange and red lay, fading, on the sky.

Rainstone pushed her exhaustion away, she'd make it past here and to safety tonight. All the cats picked up the pace, trotting smoothly across the large valley, everyone anxious to finish the journey and rest and eat.

But the sun had long left its last mark on the sky, the glittering stars and round moon appearing in the sky. The silver light soothed Rainstone, it almost felt like she was in one of her dreams, no looming mountains around her, just the crystal specked sky and the ground spreading away at her paws, keeping her stuck down to it.

The cats gave a final heave as they padded up over the last ridge, every cat was bone weary and the soft breeze ruffled their whiskers. The soft silver light on the snow gave Rainstone a tired, dreamy feeling. Dusty gave her sharp nudges every once in a while to keep her going, but by the time she'd half slipped and walked down the last, long, steep slope, she could hardly tell what they were in.

She got a hazy vision of an older silver she-cat with white splotches when they stopped, then she was nudged into a den full of warmth and fell asleep almost instantly. Not registering anything but the relief in her paws.

** …**

Rainstone jerked her head up as something thudded on the ground in front of her. The scent of mouse, muskier and plumper then in the mountains. She nodded a hasty thanks at Stretch as he left, her fur prickling at the reminder she couldn't take care of herself, then wolfed down the food.

She sat, stroking her whiskers clean with her working front paw, leaning sloppily on the other, trying to keep her balance square on it so that it wouldn't roll out.

She saw she was in an earthen den with a tangle of moss and lichen hanging as a curtain over the rock that surrounded the den. Several moss nests and the fresh scents told her this was the den every cat shared. The way the strong golden light slanted told her it must have been past sun-high.

_ I hardly ever sleep in so long! _Then she reminded herself that she was expecting kits and had been traveling late into the night. She struggled to her paws, her muscles shrieking in protest, but she forced them to bend and strode out, limping even more heavily as she tried to keep her balance on her feeling-less paw.

She blinked in shock at the glare of the yellow light. Snow dotted the ground, only about a mouse-length thick, much less then in the mountains. The air was warmer and more wet, and dripping icicles hung from the trees.

She gaped, even the trees were different! They weren't the gnarled, shrubbery trees she was used to. These were sturdy, strong trees, growing straight and tall, defying the wind and snow. Their bare branches crashed against each other in the wind, roaring back at the gusts.

The ground under-paw was a cool, dark brown dirt, not quite muddy, but not fully dry. Leaf mulch littered the ground, was that what made the ground so soft? The dirt in the mountains had always been hard and dry, except when it rained, then it just washed the top off and left the bottom layer to be bone-hard.

She opened her mouth to take in the scents, they were new, full of different prey scents, different earth scents, and new scents she couldn't place. Then a fresher scent bathed her tongue and she saw Dusty striding from a clump of undergrowth, arriving through a small tunnel of the prickly branches that gave a low circle barrier around the den.

"Enjoy your meal?" Dusty asked, her voice sharp with annoyance.

It took Rainstone a moment to understand that Dusty's annoyance wasn't aimed at her, but something else. "Yes, thank you," Rainstone mewed politely, waiting for Dusty to sulk silently, but surprisingly, that didn't happen.

"My mother's such a mouse-brain!" Dusty hissed angrily, lashing her tail in frustrated motions.

Rainstone didn't say anything, she didn't know what the rift was, but she was sure it didn't have to do with the younger litter. "I can't believe she keeps judging me by my father, I didn't even know the good-for-nothing crow-food eater," Dusty growled.

Rainstone's ears pricked, _so this has to do with the father that Dusty never knew._ "What happened to him?" she asked quietly.

Dusty shook her head, "Don't know, wasn't there," she muttered bitterly.

"Did your mother tell you anything?" Rainstone pressed, leaning in a little more.

"Other then she never wanted to mate with him, and thus never wanted to have me. Nope!" Dusty snorted with angry resentment.

Rainstone sighed, "May I meet her?" she asked, maybe she could somehow find something out, or at least get a feel for this cat that was so near-sighted to Dusty.

Dusty jerked her muzzle toward the tunnel she'd entered through, "She's just out there with Pummel, Crystal, and Stretch. Can't miss them," Dusty muttered, shaking her head and padding to the den, ducking under the moss and lichen.

Rainstone watched her, worry prickling for her new friend. Shaking her head, she limped for the tunnel, her paw-steps uneven on the hard floor. She suddenly noticed that the snow wasn't just pushed away from the places, it was melting. _The warm season must come on sooner down here,_ she thought, sighing.

Once out of the clearing, she pricked her ears. The sounds here were muffled by the trees and undergrowth, not like in the mountains, where the sound floated though the clear air. But she could just make out the laughing voices off to her side.

Following it, the scents, though mingled with the heavy leaf scents, led her to a small clearing where she saw Pummel, Crystal, and Stretch all crowded around the same silver she-cat dappled with white that she'd half-seen last night.

She flicked her ears worriedly, the older she-cat had the same shade of green eyes that Dusty and Pummel shared, no doubt she was the mother. She wondered if she was interrupting something, but as she watched, she saw the two toms fall into a play-fight over something, Crystal calling out encouragement and the mother looking on with pride in her green eyes.

At first, she'd determined that the mother must have been an overly prideful she-cat who had loved her second litter more then her first kit. But now, she saw something in the she-cat's green eyes that changed the feeling. The dark, haunted, and defeated look that had been so visible in the eyes of the she-cats' back at the cave was in this cat's eyes.

Confident she wouldn't be interrupting anything important now, she limped into the clearing, her tail waving behind her for balance with her new-learned gait. The silver she-cat glanced at her, her green eyes warm and sympathetic, not at all what Rainstone had expected from a cat who didn't like her own daughter.

"How are you doing? You looked almost dead on your paws last night," the silver she-cat's voice was smooth as the river with a vibrating undertone, like a slight tremble in the earth.

"Much better, thank you, I just needed to rest after that difficult journey," Rainstone returned politely, sitting down and leaning off her dead paw.

"I can imagine, going all the way in one day carrying kits, and with a new injury? The trip is difficult enough for a strong cat," the she-cat mewed.

Rainstone nodded, glancing as Crystal argued with Pummel, the fur lifted on the young cat's spines and their eyes glimmered with irritableness. Did all siblings fight? She'd never fought with Pepper, but these cats fought all the time!

She glanced at the silver she-cat, her white patches looked like fallen clouds that had molded onto her pelt, the patches a pale gray around the edges. "Excuse me, but I never got your name," she mewed.

"Oh, its Flake," the she-cat mewed. _Flake?_ At her confused look she carried on. "It used to be Snowflake, but I changed it to be shorter," Flake explained.

Rainstone shrugged, her name wasn't particularly short, but she wasn't going to change it to be shorter anytime soon. She liked her name, it reminded her of her home.

"Anyways, Snowflake sounds like too pretty a name for me," the silver she-cat mewed wistfully. The dark look in her eyes growing stronger.

Rainstone pricked her ears. "Did you live in the mountains before?" she asked slowly.

Flake gave her a sharp glance from her green eyes. "What makes you say that?" her mew edgy.

Rainstone shrugged her dark gray shoulders. "Well, Dusty, Pummel, and Stretch live in the mountains," she pointed out.

Flake gave a curt nod, "Yes, I lived there before I had Dusty. Dusty then decided to move back there last spring, Stretch and Pummel went with her, hardly more then kits!" Flake snorted.

Rainstone twitched her ears, was that why Flake didn't like Dusty? Because Pummel and Stretch left her to go there? "Of course," Flake went on, her eyes softening, "I liked adventure when I was young," she sighed.

_ So that's not the problem…_ "What was wrong with Dusty's father? She said he was no good, but never met him," Rainstone went on hesitantly.

Flake's gaze suddenly swam with dark thoughts. "I suppose you may have heard about the cats who live together in a cave in that valley?" Flake growled, too low for the young cats to hear.

Rainstone's heart suddenly thudded in her chest and she nodded, she knew where this was going. "Well," Flake began, her gaze changing wistful again, "I met a tom on the border one day, a handsome russet cat with green eyes and a ripped tail," Flake mewed slowly.

Rainstone tried to hide her shock, there was only one red tom with green eyes who carried a ripped tail since he was a kit: Fox. She listened to the tale of how Flake met up with this cat three times, on the third time was forced to mate with him, his strength overpowering her own. It was too terrible to relay to kit's ears.

When Flake stopped, she was trembling uncontrollably. "I never saw him again, and I planned to leave his kits for him at the border to take care of, but I kept Dusty, I just couldn't leave her with him, no matter how much I wanted to give back all he forced on me," Flake mewed with a shudder.

Rainstone understood then why she didn't like Dusty, though she thought she could have gotten over it by then. "But that's not Dusty's fault," she pointed out, though she was full of sympathy for Flake.

Flake shook her head, "I know, but I can't help it, I can see him in her, and I don't _want _to see him in her," Flake mewed, sounding helpless.

Rainstone sighed, well, if that's how she felt, then there was no changing it, what was worse, she couldn't even tell Dusty anything new. Dusty already knew that her mother hadn't wanted her and had been forced into mating with her father.

"That's also why I left the mountains, I didn't want to encounter him again," Flake mewed, her green eyes full of memories.

Rainstone sighed and nodded tiredly. The sun was going now and the littermates had gone hunting. She nodded at Flake, "I'm going to see if I can catch anything, I'll see you later," she mewed, standing up and limping stiffly away.

_ Its goo ehre,_ she thought as the dusty light washed over her as she sniffed for prey. _Its warm and safe here, no danger at all, not like the mountains…_

** …**

Rainstone managed to just barely catch a mouse before dark, and then ate it and fell asleep instantly, tired after her struggle in hunting. But she slept restlessly, warmth and cold flashing in waves through her. Icy cold fear of something she could sense keeping her from sleeping.

She finally gave up and, getting up, she crept over the other sleeping cats and stood in the moon bathed clearing. Soft grass whispered in the breeze and the trees hit each other with boney creaks. The moon was veiled by thin clouds, the wet breeze and rings around the moon promised rain.

She shivered, without the sun, the air was cold, though it lacked the nip in the mountains. Her thick fur glowed lightly in the dim moonlight, the blue edge more evident then ever. She sat, feeling the smooth grass beneath her paws and let the wind whistle through her ears, calming her and allowing her to be aware of her exhaustion.

But something stopped her from going back into the den. A fresh scent, she'd smelled it earlier, and Pummel had told her to avoid it. What was it? Not quite cat, but a meat-eater no doubt. It reminded her a bit of the wolf smell she occasionally found in the mountains.

She stiffened as she heard a low, threatening growl. Rising to her paws with her fur bushed out with wary fear, she stared as two russet figures leaped over the low bramble barrier.

They were taller then a cat with lengthier bodies, thick, bushy tails and an ugly narrow snout speckled with scars and whiskers. Their eyes were dark and beady, with the sharp, pointed look of a hawk. A bit of brown mixed with russet on one was the only thing that set the two apart.

Rainstone instinctively knew these were dangerous, though she'd never seen them in the mountains. She let out a call of alarm to the sleeping cats while the creatures circled her. She saw a flash of white at the curtain and a horrified gasp.

Rainstone didn't turn to see who it was, too busy keeping herself facing the creatures who were trying to weave around her to spring at her exposed back. Fear erupted in her, she'd too easily assumed the place was safe, not even asking about what dangers may lay in wait. Not every danger came from other cats.

"Get out mange-pelts!" the vicious and defiant snarl came from an all too familiar voice. Dusty was at her side, her dusky pelt glowed in the moonlight. But the silver light also lit up her bared fangs and her ivory claws. She was going to fight.

Dusty glanced at her sideways. "Get out with every other cat, I'll keep them distracted," the she-cat muttered through her bared fangs.

Shock and fear flashed through Rainstone and she started. "But what about you?!" she protested, keeping one eye on the enemy that looked like it was preparing the strike.

"There's a tunnel in the den, follow it out, I'll get away and climb a tree, I'll be fine," Dusty continued, as if Rainstone hadn't spoken.

The mountain cat still didn't move, how could she leave her friend to fight alone? "Think of your kits!" Dusty hissed when Rainstone didn't move.

Rainstone didn't want to think of her kits, that those creatures that she'd used purely to survive could cost Dusty her life. But her paws carried her back into the den and then Flake was pushing her through the dark, tripping her over nests and down into a close area that smelled heavily of dirt and pressed around all sides of her.

She crawled forward, feeling Flake nudging her from behind for what seemed like forever, but was probably only a few heartbeats. Then she emerged into the cool forest air again.

Instantly the stench of the predators touched the roof of her mouth and she let out a whimper of distress. In front of her stood Pummel, Stretch, and Crystal in a defensive line, facing with hackles raised another one of those creatures.

Suddenly, a loud yowling arose through the quiet night air and in burst another creature, the one with brown in its fur that she'd seen in the front of the den. _It must have broken past Dusty to help its friend!_

She watched as the two creatures raced forward in unison. The three littermates leapt at one, taking it down under a withering mass of fur. But leaving Rainstone fully exposed to the other, as Flake had yet to emerge behind her.

Recalling all her fights with Pepper, she balanced on her toes and dodged around the snapping jaws, raking a paw down its hind leg with sharp precision. But her kits had made her heavy and unbalanced, so as the creature whipped around she slipped and it buried its teeth into her shoulder.

She let out a howl of pain and lashed out with her hind legs, kicking the sharp muzzle away. But now she lay exposed on her back, the creature pressed its giant paw into her belly, heavy with kits. She shrieked, not from pain, but from fear of what was happening to her precious kits.

Then the creature was off of her and she was struggling to keep her panic contained. She looked to see Flake wrestling with the creature. She clung on to its back with claws buried in its fur and her teeth locked in an ear.

Rainstone stared around and saw the three littermates nipping at the retreating paws of the last creature. They weren't uninjured, Pummel's white and gray fur was splattered with blood and a nasty cut sliced down Stretch's flank, while one of Crystal's shiny eyes was swollen shut.

A yowl interrupted her assessment. Looking around, she saw Flake thrown off the creature's back and from the shadows appeared the third creature, it was injured, but no cat pursued it. Fear almost turned her vision black for a moment.

"Dusty!" she shrieked. Her cry did nothing but focus the arriving creature's focus on her. It charged for her and she raced at it, her fear fighting with fury and hardly even feeling her limp.

She leapt, swiping at its ear and flank with swipes that spattered her muzzle with blood as she skimmed past. But then she soon found herself cornered by two of the russet creatures against the mound of the back of the den. Their yips and barks echoing off her ears like eerie cries.

Then she felt claws drag at her pelt and her paws were swung from the ground before she landed with a stumble on her dead paw. She looked up and felt a joy of delight to see Dusty's green eyes.

Then it fell away as she realized she was actually looking at Pummel. "Quick!" the young tom barked. "Crystal, take her! Meet up with us within four days at the usual place," Pummel's words were lost on Rainstone's confused ears.

But she felt a soft nose nudging her gently but persistently. She took up a run, the soft flank at her side guiding her around fallen branches and washed-out holes. She was aware of nothing but the pain in her belly and the ache in her leg of her dead paw. Then she gradually became aware of something else.

The hot breath at her paws had disappeared and the moonlight had grown stronger. Stumbling to a stop, she looked around. The forest had disappeared, instead she stood in an area of flat, waving, brown grass. No snow under-paw.

_ Where am I?_ Looking back, she saw where they had left, a large, round patch of dark haze that rose abruptly from the flat ground. The mountains stood off to her left, a dark blotch against the sky. She looked around and her eyes rested on Crystal, the white and black she-cat looked utterly exhausted and was staring at her wearily from a few paces ahead.

The stunned look frozen on her face reminded Rainstone of what just happened and she laid down, slowing her breathing and trying to remember. _What happened to Dusty? And Stretch? And Flake? Are they okay? Where are they now? An-and what were those creatures?_

She realized her breathing had grown fast, though warmth filled her as Crystal curled down by her, her soft, faint breathing warm on her flank. She was so innocent, so young… The forest had seemed so as well.

_ There's a danger in safety, you forget to look for trouble._

**...**

**Fun! right? that was fun! my twisted version of fun anyways. I'm not actually twisted, don't get that bad of an impression of me, please!**

**Back to things that matter... I _should_ actually update sooner then before, but I honestly have no real idea. **

**Please Review!**


	19. Chapter 18: Home?

**Hello! I like this chapter... hope you guys do too!**

**REVIEWS**

**"Leviathan48"- Me too!**

**"Silverblaze72"- Thanks! and I can't give anything away...**

**"Booklady1017"- Thank you! and I'll get around to reading it one of these days...**

**"StarClanIsWithUs"- I dunno**

**"ShadowQuest2000"- Not quite dog, but just as bad... You're going to be so disappointed. I'll apologize in advance, sorry!**

**Mouseydragonwolf- Thanks! and I need to figure it out as well**

**Dawnfeather- Thanks! and you're right about that!**

**Chapter 18: Home?**

The sun shone half-way up the sky, a pale glow with clouds wreathed around it and the bare yellow-brown landscape was specked by two lone dots of color. Rainstone was ready to get moving, Crystal was less so. "We have to wait four days or we could be in trouble," Crystal protested, while Rainstone paced back and forth.

"In trouble from what?" she snapped irritably.

"I said we'd wait four days, if we're early or late we could end up jeopardizing everything," Crystal growled. The usually friendly cat was getting snappy.

"Why can't we go back to the forest?" Rainstone pressed, feeling confused and worried. The thought of what happened to every other cat put her belly in a twist, not to mention her own paws and belly ached from her injuries.

"Those foxes will still be hanging around, we've had trouble from them in the past, we'll meet up with the other cats in a different place," Crystal mewed firmly, her gaze hard.

Rainstone's ears flicked up, "Foxes? that's what those were?" she asked, picturing Fox the cat as those savage creatures, it wasn't difficult. "But what about Dusty? Was she there when we split up?" Rainstone asked.

Crystal's eyes darkened, "No cat saw her, but I'd have a hard time believing she's dead. Dusty can take care of herself," Crystal mewed, though she looked uncertain.

"And the other cats?" Rainstone asked, not knowing what she meant about this 'different' place.

"Pummel and Stretch went with Flake, they're hiding out some place," Crystal mewed.

Rainstone shook her head, "Why did we split up?" she demanded, sitting down since her paws ached.

"To shake off the foxes, they could only chase one of us and its easier to lose one then two," Crystal explained. Rainstone snorted. "Oh, come on! It'll all be okay, those foxes were just passing through, they'll be gone by the time we meet and go home," Crystal purred, sounding like she was trying to convince herself.

"So, where is this meeting place?" Rainstone mewed finally, her mind a whirl of fear and anxiety.

"Do you see that bit of brush over there?" Crystal mewed, pointing toward the west. Rainstone peered through the hazy distance and saw a speck of brown on the open plain. "There's a forest over there, larger then the one we call home, and there is a little waterfall that we have as a meeting place in case anything goes wrong," Crystal mewed.

"Why there?" Rainstone asked.

"That's where I was born with my littermates and where my dad lived, mom moved closer to the mountains when Stretch and Pummel went with Dusty into the mountains," Crystal mewed, her eyes wistful.

Rainstone broke off her nervous tail-twitching. "Do you miss your father?" she asked softly.

Crystal snapped her gaze back to her, surprise clear on her glistening blue eyes. "Of course! Don't you?" Crystal mewed, as if she couldn't imagine a cat not liking their dad.

Rainstone didn't respond, thinking of Hawk for a heartbeat. _He wanted me dead, didn't care, just cared about me not causing trouble. _Sadness and anger throbbed in three paws, her dead paw still lifeless.

Rainstone shook out her fur, a breeze rustled the top of the long grass that grew as tall as her shoulder. The sun was hiding behind gray clouds and the promised rain seemed to be getting closer.

"You said four days?" Rainstone mewed thoughtfully, eyeing the forest patch they had left.

Crystal nodded. Rainstone turned to her with a smirk on her face. "Then we are going to go back and search for Dusty," she declared.

"What?!" Crystal exclaimed, jumping to her paws, her long white fur bristling.

"Yep!" Rainstone purred, relishing Crystal's bewilderment.

"Why?" Crystal mewed.

Rainstone felt a surge of fury, "Because she's my friend and your sister!" she burst out, plucking at the ground with her claws in frustration.

"Half-sister," Crystal muttered.

"Really? Whatever, I'm going, you can come with me or not," Rainstone mewed casually, slightly annoyed by Crystal's remark. She started to retrace her steps from the night before. _I can reach the forest by night and see if Dusty's around, then take two days getting to the meeting place, and if I don't… well, its not my family. _

She halted as a flash of white blocked her path. She glared at Crystal. Crystal looked back, eyes annoyed, "Okay, you can go, but I'm coming with you," Crystal mewed through clenched teeth.

Rainstone purred gently and touched Crystal's shoulder, She suddenly realized Crystal was about her age, she'd always felt that the littermates were younger then her, but they were all about the same age, about twelve-thirteen moons.

_ I just feel older since I'm having kits…_ The thought weighed heavy on her mind as she and Crystal trekked in silence as the sun rose on one side and fell on the other. As they neared the forest, the haze took shape into trees just starting to bud and bracken just starting to unfurl.

Rain started falling with dusk, plunging the two weary travelers into a cold and unfriendly world. The trees offered little cover from the downpour that shone dusty and brown in the fleeting light of dusk below the clouds.

Rainstone sniffed warily, her eyes open and ears flicked up for the scent of the foxes. Crystal padded by her side, her white fur looked grey in the rain and her spotted fur was plastered to her sides, her whiskers dripping with raindrops that swelled and splashed off.

Crystal's blue eyes shone wide and glassy in the rain, her muzzle lifted high so that her breath ruffled Rainstone's ear when she jerked her head around. Her tail twitched restlessly, flicking Rainstone with more rain, not that she cared, Rainstone was looking for any signs of Dusty as they neared the den.

Crystal hissed suddenly and nudged her off the trail, slipping and sliding into a dripping wet gorse bush who's thorns pulled at her pelt. Rainstone opened her jaws to snap at the she-cat, now she had thorns and muddy leaves in her fur!

But Crystal's dripping wet tail pressed against her mouth and Rainstone was tempted to bite it off. If not for the scent that drifted to her and the sound of thumping paws, large paws, against the sopping earth.

She spied through Crystal's bushed out fur a flicker of russet tail tipped with white. The low barks sparked fury and fear in her as she imagined those creatures strutting around the forest as if it was all theirs.

But the fox passed without noticing them, probably thanks to the rain that muted all scents. Rainstone twitched rain off her ears and nudged her way out, sticking her nose out to sniff and get a good look around against Crystal's warning cry.

"Its gone," Rainstone mewed quietly, not exactly sure how far gone.

"But we know its still here with its friends, we should leave before we get trapped," Crystal mewed nervously.

But Rainstone was padding to an oak tree, its tough bark glistened with rain. Shuffling her nervousness away, she reached up and gripped the bark with her claws and slowly hauled herself up, her back paws aching to get a grip while her limp front paw did nothing but hold on by force on every lucky paw-hold she got.

Her added weight made the going slow and Crystal had scampered up before she reached the first branch. "See?" Rainstone puffed, waving her trembling tail toward all the trees. "We'll just travel by tree," she panted as she struggled to stay balanced on the slippery wood.

Crystal eyed her with concern but nodded. "Okay, but we have to be gone by morning," the she-cat mewed firmly.

Rainstone swished her tail mutinously, she wasn't going to leave her friend if she was here! "Dusty may be making her way over to the safe place," Crystal pointed out. "And Pummel asked me to take care of you, that's what I'm going to do," Crystal mewed stubbornly, her young shoulders held her up regally even though her sodden form downgraded the effect.

Rainstone carefully placed her paws on the branch, the rain pelting down from above and its icy chill seeped down to her bones. Her claws dug into the wood as a breeze sent her branch bouncing and rain lashed her face. _This is impossible!_ she thought, she'd fall before she made her way anywhere!

Crystal, on the other paw, scampered like a squirrel, tail bushed out behind her, along the branches. Rainstone guessed she was lucky that she'd gotten used to her limp and that the branches interlocked, making her crossing from one tree to another easy.

That is, until they came to the gap around the den. Crystal bounded back in front of her, balancing easily on the thin branch while Rainstone strained to keep herself on. "I don't see her, I think we should go," Crystal mewed, her blue eyes worried and glistening like the rain.

Rainstone nodded slowly, her eyes tracing her route to the den. As Crystal turned around with a sigh of relief, Rainstone leapt down to the ground, a huff of shock as her paws hit something that didn't bounce. _It feels so good!_ Keeping low, she trotted through the entrance to the den, keeping her mouth wide to taste the scents.

_ My scent, Pummel's, Crystal's… Flake's and Stretch's as well, all aged the same… but Dusty's is slightly fresher… and tinged with blood._ She mused carefully double-tasting to make sure, _she must have come back and seen we were gone…_

"I thought we were leaving! Crystal's hiss made her jump.

"Crystal! Dusty came back after we left!" Rainstone mewed, remembering just in time to keep her voice low.

"Really?" Crystal's eyes were wide and her look of fear and anger changed to a look of surprise. _She never thought we'd find anything!_ Rainstone thought indignantly.

Crystal tasted the air, looking back at her in confusion, "I can't tell if its fresher or not," Crystal mewed.

Rainstone twitched her tail in annoyance, "Its there, and it leads out… here," Rainstone followed the scent out, taking the route back through the tunnel and immediately veering off the track to a small bunny trail that led, twisting, through the trees. Crystal followed with anxious steps and a bushed tail.

Eventually, Crystal's nose twitched and she looked at Rainstone in surprise. "Believe me now?" Rainstone growled, knowing she had picked up the undeniable scent.

"But how did you scent it earlier? In all this rain?" Crystal asked, looking impressed.

Rainstone shrugged, "I don't know how you didn't," she muttered, picking the pace up as the scent grew steadily stronger. Dusty must have come along here after sun-high. Breaking into a run, Rainstone sprinted through the soaking forest, the rain easing up a bit and the faint shine of moonlight lit up the forest's silhouettes.

The scent of fox faded and Dusty's scent grew stronger. But Rainstone's heart leapt in her throat at every whiff, because along with Dusty's scent came the heavy stench of blood. She imaged her friend horribly wounded and bleeding to death and speed rushed to her paws as she raced faster then a shadow, not even noticing her limp or the cold rain washing over her pelt.

She skidded to an abrupt halt at the edge of the forest on the south side. A trial of blood washed down with the rain from a small rise just in front of her that was carpeted with heather and a bunch of tall gorse stood as a lone den on the top of the rise.

Breath coming in rapid gasps, Rainstone padded, stock-stiff, to the gorse den. The scent of blood almost hiding her friend's scent. In the dark, Rainstone could only sense a lump of fur, and she was glad that Crystal had stayed out.

Rainstone sniffed over her friend, her heart wrenching as she found several long slashes still dripping with blood and a nasty bite to her ear and back leg. "Oh! Dusty…" Rainstone breathed as she sniffed the sour scent of infection and heard the labored breathing.

The cat stirred, "Rainstone?" Dusty's voice was confused and half-gone, it wrenched Rainstone's heart.

_ Stop it! Focus on helping her instead of feeling guilty that while you ran to safety you left her to drag herself to the edge of the territory…. Stop it!_ Focusing fiercely on grabbing the moss on the ground and pressing it against Dusty's wounds she called to Crystal.

"What? Oh!" Crystal gasped.

"Find cobwebs, marigold, horsetail, or goldenrod, I also need bindweed and some nettle," Rainstone shot off the list of herbs.

She glanced at Crystal when she saw the she-cat wasn't moving. "What are those things?" Crystal asked, Rainstone hissed quietly in exasperation. _That's right, she's not from where I live, she doesn't know anything about herbs! _

"Get the cobwebs then!" Rainstone snapped and Crystal dashed off. Rainstone hurriedly rolled Dusty into a patch of faint light so she could see more clearly. Trying to keep her trembling paws still, she grabbed some moss and held it out of the den for a few moments, allowing it to be wetted by the rain and then started gently cleaning Dusty's wounds.

With the matted blood and fur clean, Rainstone's fur prickled to see how deep they were. _And she has a broken rib as well,_ Rainstone felt it as she ran her paw along the slender ribs. She sighed in relief as Crystal came back, hopping on three legs with one paw swaddled with cobwebs and more stuck to her chest and muzzle.

Rainstone snatched the ones from Crystal's forepaw as the white she-cat reached the swab the rest from her fur. Rainstone carefully bound all the wounds with cobwebs, but the sour scent of infection hung heavy in the damp air.

Dawn came around, shining light on the three cats. Dusty had fallen into an unconscious doze and Rainstone worked with numb paws to try to keep her nose damp and cobwebs in place, it was slow going with only one front paw. Crystal left and returned with three mice, holding them by their tails and dropping them on a dry patch of moss that lay on the muddy floor of the washed-out den.

"I need those herbs," Rainstone hissed under her breath to Crystal.

"Even if I did know what they were, its just barely spring! There won't be any herbs to pick!" Crystal hissed back, her eyes round with anguish and helplessness. Rainstone felt the same, the cobwebs would stop the bleeding, but the infection was deep and with no herbs to fight it…

_ I can't think about that! I need to keep the wounds clean to prevent the infection from spreading,_ she told herself firmly. Her belly rumbled and she glanced at the mice, Crystal nudged one to her and dug into her own, devouring it in a few bites.

Rainstone hesitated, not wanting to eat as long as Dusty couldn't. But she was extra hungry with more mouths to feed and gave in to her hunger and gulped it down. Cleaning the last scraps from her whiskers, she suddenly saw how drafty the den was and how the light drizzle seeped in through the gorse roof.

"We need to fix this den, if Dusty has any hope, she needs to be warm and clean," Rainstone mewed.

Crystal nodded and they set to work immediately. They laid dry heather over the muddy floor and scraped out the biggest piles of muddy leaves and twigs, using the rest to patch the holes in the roof. Then they wove waxy leaves and heather into the gorse to thicken the walls and made the opening just a narrow passage instead of an open wall.

Rainstone kept checking Dusty, listening to the heavy breathing and sniffing at her sour breath. She worked tirelessly on the den, even though she hadn't slept since running out of the forest. By sun-high they had dried out the den and filled the holes. The rain had stopped, though fitful gray clouds continued rolling overhead with a few spurts of sprinkling rain.

Rainstone yawned, exhausted. After fixing the den, she'd gone out and searched for herbs in the area. All she'd found was a bunch of blackened horsetail. _There's no herbs, I can just hope Dusty will be able to fight it off._

Laying down by her friend, she pressed against Dusty. But she couldn't sleep, her pelt felt fur of fleas and the smell of damp fur and mud made her feel icky and dirty. Sitting up with a sigh, she tiredly groomed her dark gray fur, feeling the fur smooth under her long swipes of her tongue.

Finally, when she felt clean, she settled down to sleep, feeling Dusty's uneven breaths on her ears and felt her slowing heartbeat against her flank.

She remembered the old kit-tale that if you wish for something three times over, it'd come true. Closing her eyes, she began as she drifted off to sleep. _Please be okay, Please be okay… _She fell asleep.

** …**

Rainstone woke to a cold nose nudging her shoulder. She blinked tiredly and saw fiery red light flooding the ground outside the den and a silhouette standing in front of her.

"Crystal? What's wrong?" Rainstone asked, eyeing Crystal's grief-stricken face.

"I-its Dusty, she isn't breathing," Crystal mewed in a pained and horrified voice.

Rainstone's fur lifted along her spine as she realized she didn't hear Dusty's breath anymore and her body was cold as stone besides her. She turned and nudged Dusty, the golden dappled she-cat didn't twitch.

"Dusty? Oh, Dusty, wake up!" Rainstone begged, but she scented the terrible stench of death. She placed her ear to Dusty's chest. Silence. No heartbeat.

"Because of her loss of blood she couldn't fight off the infection," Rainstone mumbled, stumbling and feeling as if her head was heavier then the mountains.

"B-But, how can she be gone?" Crystal wailed, her white fur still matted with mud.

Rainstone stared at her, not sure how to comfort her when she was feeling so sad. "I don't know," she felt her eyes glisten, "I just don't know," she mumbled again. She closed her eyes and remembered the last time she'd seen her, facing the foxes to give every cat a chance of safety.

_ And we left her to die!_ Grief and guilt wrenched at her heart as she remembered running away with Crystal at her side. Her wounds still stung on her belly, she hadn't even bothered to clean them and she could tell infection would set in if she didn't do anything about it soon.

She looked at Crystal, trying to figure out what they had to do next. "We need to bury Dusty, then go meet up with every other cat," she mewed finally, her words sounding hollow as she struggled to get to her paws and move on.

Crystal pressed to her side, shivering uncontrollably and her eyes were blank as they dug a hole in the soft earth at the edge of the forest. The moon was rising as they dragged Dusty into the hole, Rainstone felt sick as they tumbled earth over her friend.

_ What is she's really alive? Are we killing her now by burying her?_ Worry pricked at her paws, but she knew that Dusty was really dead, the feared smell was unmistakable.

She sat with Crystal, staring blankly at the patch of freshly turned earth. Her mind was numb, she couldn't think as she felt the chilly breeze and the silver moonlight wash over her pelt.

Rainstone felt a breath on her ear. Confused, since Crystal sat on her other side, she turned her head and saw two shimmering outlines. One was a black cat with amber eyes, the familiar scent cleared Rainstone's grief.

But then the other shape stepped out of the shadows, a dark brown she-cat with a long, winding tail and dusted golden dapples framing a pair of green eyes. _Dusty? Oh! Song, please take care of Dusty!_ she silently begged. Song gave a small, slow nod and then they disappeared into the shadow.

** …**

"Come on! We need to go meet the other cats," Rainstone pushed Crystal.

The she-cat stumbled as they left the forest behind and struck out over the bare plains. Crystal seemed to catch unto Rainstone's urgency and they picked up to a trot. By sun-high they'd left the forest in the distance and Crystal seemed to have shed some of her grief.

"I can't wait to get there! Its so pretty, you'll see," Crystal purred.

Rainstone nodded, struggling to shake out the cold bit of grief in her belly. After seeing Dusty and Song she felt better, but it didn't help the fact that she missed Dusty's company. _We were just barely friends…. And now I'll never know her better,_ she thought with regret.

"And in half a moon we'll be able to return to the forest and go home," Crystal's words broke her out of her thoughts.

_ Home?_ Rainstone's thoughts echoed the word. She looked back at the dark haze. The branches pointed unfriendly and they clashed against each other in conflict. Somewhere there Dusty's body was laid under the dirt with grass and flowers growing.

_ That's not my home, and neither are the mountains,_ she thought, glancing at the sheer rocks. _I don't have a home… but I'll keep looking until I find one._

**...**

***Sniff* I'm going to cry, I loved Dusty so much! I really never meant to do that, it just happened! like everything else in this story...**

**Please Review!**


	20. Chapter 19: Alone

**Hello! I noticed I'm getting fewer reviews again... is there something you're trying to tell me? **

**REVIEWS**

**"Leviathan48"- Thanks!**

**"Booklady1017"- Why, thank you!**

**"Crowstar54"- I know... but these things happen, and writing wouldn't be very fun if I kept everything fun and good for too long.**

**Dawnfeather- I know, I needed to put some kind of light tone into the whole thing**

**"Silverblaze72"- I know, and maybe Rainstone will eventually find a place... but I have a habit of twisting things when they are perfect. **

**"Wanderstar"- Its quite possible... (actually, you get a pretty definite answer in this chapter)**

**Anova- Yeah, and it was Scamp, wrong 'S.' Squirrel is dead**

**Mouseydragonwolf- Well, sadness is a part of life, you go on. **

**Chapter 19: Alone**

The clouds were white and fluffy like sheep fur, the sky a robin egg blue background. Rainstone snorted as a bit of sheep fur stuck onto her nose. She glared at the wholly creatures, their plaintive baas filled their ear while their stench made Rainstone retch.

She looked ahead, the dark haze she and Crystal had been padding after for the past two days had grown close enough that Rainstone could see the individual branches of the bare trees and the green haze over the forest floor as grass shot up from the dark soil and ferns released new leaves.

The air had steadily grown warmer as they'd headed south-west, following the sun's descent at an angle. "So, where is this waterfall of yours?" Rainstone asked, shaking a bit of dirt from her limp paw.

"Just at the very edge, the other cats should be there waiting," Crystal mewed, her voice lacking the happy bounce it'd had when they'd first met. They were both grieving for Dusty.

Rainstone couldn't shake off a sense of guilt that if she hadn't run away from the foxes, she would have been able to help Dusty before the infection had taken hold of her. But the fresh air blowing and the red strains of dusk streaking out far across the sky along with strands of gold and vibrant orange, life went on.

They left the field of sheep behind and entered the forest. Rainstone gazed around with a frown, she didn't like forests anymore. Not that she liked them much to begin with, but she hated them even more now that she knew they harbored savage creatures such as foxes that could kill without remorse.

The shadows deepened and darkened as Rainstone heard the relentless splashing that she remembered from back in the cave. She was brought back to standing by the small stream dropping and bubbling along a rock current down the dusty slope.

Rainstone eyed the glimmering sunlight through the trees, it seemed dusty and old, not like when it rose as a ball of shining glory in the morning. But the earth was cool and the scents were fresh as the warm season came on with new life.

Crystal led her along a faint trail, the ground cool to the touch and the soft tickling of grass rubbed away the raw soreness in her paws. She could smell the other cats up ahead, the absence of Dusty's familiar scent pulled at her heart and she and Crystal both slowed as the ground sloped down.

But Crystal rounded the bend without hesitating and let out a joyful yowl as Flake, Pummel, and Stretch nuzzled her. Rainstone stayed a step back, looking on wistfully. _My family wouldn't welcome me back like that… They'd kill me._

Wryness pulled at her muzzle and she had to stop herself from scowling. After a few moments, in which the sun completely hid itself from view, the cats broke away from their tight bundle and started questioning each other loudly.

Rainstone studied the surroundings as they caught each other up. The small waterfall, only about six fox-lengths tall, was made of rocks that sat on top of each other in perfect harmony. Their were plenty of paw holds to climb it. Around her, the earth rose up to meet the top of the waterfall.

Stretching her muzzle up, she saw the ground above the rise was flat, meaning they sat in a hollow. The grass was bare and brown, turning a soft green with new growth. The waterfall had a little pool that it splashed into. Rainstone wondered if the whole hollow had once been filled with water, and that if a tiny underground tunnel had carried the excess water elsewhere.

She padded to the pool, the ground turned to mud, it felt cold and molded her paw-prints into the ground, but her paws came off clean as she stepped back with water dripping from her whiskers.

"But Dusty hasn't come yet, she might still be back at home," the words Rainstone hadn't wanted to hear had been spoken by Flake. She turned to Flake, would she be happy her daughter was gone? Or would she grieve?

Rainstone met Crystal's eyes, they had darkened and her face looked strained. She opened her mouth, no doubted to tell her family the bad news, but Rainstone beat her to it. "Dusty is dead," she mewed, her voice soft like the breeze.

Every cat stared at her; the lop-sided, kit-expecting, strange mountain cat who was running from her past. Pummel's and Stretch's eyes widened with shock and a whimper came from the toms' throats. Flake stared at her, sorrow in her green eyes, but also a light of guilty relief.

_ She hates herself that she is glad, but she is._ Rainstone couldn't look at her. "H-how do you know?" Pummel cried, his green eyes that matched Dusty's were wet.

"We went back to the forest and found her injured, but there were no herbs to use and it was too late to help her," Rainstone whispered, dropping her head. The cats sat in silence for a few moments, no doubt reliving moments in their lives when Dusty had been with them.

"I wish we'd never dragged her away from the mountains, now she'll never see her home again!" Stretch cried out at last, his eyes burning with guilt.

"Oh, dears," Flake whispered, resting her tail across Stretch's shoulders. "Dusty wanted us all to be safe, that's why she gave her life for us. The best thing we can do to protect her memory is live on as she wanted," Flake murmured, so gentle that Rainstone longed to believe them. But she didn't believe that Dusty could have possible wanted to die for a mother who hated her and a strange cat who had burdened her.

Rainstone looked away, sitting down with a sigh. She looked over her shoulder to see Flake and Crystal pressed against Pummel and Stretch. Rainstone sat all alone by the waterfall as the moon rose and sparkled its silver light on her fur and the water. She expected no cat to comfort her and no cat did all that night.

The morning came, the four other cats had fallen asleep, but Rainstone had stayed sitting, still as stone. She had thought of her kits in her belly, how they'd become so much less active after the attack from the foxes, as if there was less life in them as there was less life in her.

She tried to count up how long it'd be before she kitted. Judging from how big her belly had gotten and how long it'd been expecting, she'd say it was no longer then half-a-moon. _So I need to find somewhere safe and secluded…_

The other cats were just waking up, the cheerfulness forced on every cat's faces. "We can hunt, then head back, the foxes should be gone by now," Flake mewed briskly.

Rainstone didn't move as the other cats rushed off to hunt. Instead, she groomed her fur and padded to the pool, dabbling her paw in the water. She remembered when she and Night had gone on their final assessment, when they'd stopped by a pool on their first day, she'd liked dabbing her paws in and watching the ripples. She felt the same now, except the sun wasn't warm and the scents were so changed.

She felt wistfulness cover her, remembering how simple things had once been, even if it had been dangerous and scary, she'd always known what she had to do. Now she wasn't sure what she'd do.

"Here Rainstone, you must be exhausted, and hunting while expecting kits isn't easy," the warm mew of Flake and the scent of shrew jerked Rainstone from her nostalgia.

Rainstone nodded awkwardly, she hadn't even tried to hunt. But Flake had a finch for herself and they ate their prey in silence. "Do you need more? You'll need your strength as we travel back," Flake mewed.

Rainstone swallowed the last mouthful of the shrew, shifting her paws uncomfortably. She'd made a decision, one that needed to be shared. "Actually… I-err- I won't be going back with you," Rainstone mewed.

Flake looked at her in shock. "But what are you going to do then? You'll need help when you kit, and it isn't safe to be all alone in hostile territory," Flake mewed.

Rainstone's fur bristled with excitement. _Alone!_ what a wonderful word! It sounded exciting, taking on the rural world single-pawed! She was ready, really ready, not like when she'd first left the cave with doubt and fear tugging at her paws even though the other choice was certain death. She wanted to see the world, trek through the forests and plain by herself, never stopping in one place that never changed for too long.

She twitched her ears, that wouldn't happen. Not for very long anyways. She'd have her kits and they'd travel with her, not that the idea was much less exciting. _Will they be she-cats or toms? Or both?_ Curiosity washed over her, one she'd never had before. She really wanted these kits, wanted to know them, help them, live with them, teach them.

She met Flake's worried gaze with shining eyes. "I will have my kits, they'll keep me going," she promised. She could feel them moving in her belly, as if as excited as she was.

Flake hesitated, "If that is your wish, but I must warn you, not too far away from here, toward the west, there are four large groups of cats that will chase you away or kill you, I'd stay away from them," Flake mewed.

Rainstone's fur prickled, thinking of more cats that lived like the cats in the cave. She wouldn't go anywhere near them if she could help it. But nonetheless, curiosity pricked her, maybe she'd go see them one day just to see for herself…

Turning her gaze opposite of the sun that was rising over the mountains behind her, she looked deep into the forest, unknown terrain just waiting for her to pad upon. She couldn't wait to be alone.

** …**

Rainstone waved her tail in farewell as the four cats padded out of the hollow. Pummel looked upset, Stretch looked confused, Crystal looked regretful, but Flake's gaze was clear and her eyes warm with acceptance. _Dusty would have been the same,_ she thought with a flicker of grief.

After announcing her departure from the group, there'd been a lot of arguing and goodbye's, she hadn't realized she felt so close to the family after only a short time spent with them. _Tragedy can untie us all in grief,_ she thought.

Once the cats had left, Rainstone stretched, all alone in the forest, she felt more relaxed. No cats to tell her what to do or where to be, she could go wherever she wanted. Sniffing the air, she decided to climb around the top of the waterfall.

She climbed by means of the slope instead of the unstable rocks. At the top, she saw the stream, hardly more then two tail-lengths wide. She could tell by the fast moving current and her inability to see the bottom of the stream, that it was deep.

She followed the stream west. All was quiet, the chirping of birds and chattering of squirrels was low and distant as the sun rose behind her. Rainstone kept careful alert for the scent of fox, but she passed through the forest without encountering danger.

Around sun-high, the stream expanded, becoming wider, but less deep. She could see the pebbly streambed and the flicker of scaly creatures swimming with the current. _Fish?_ she thought with excitement, she'd always wanted to try fish, but no cat had ever caught any back at the cave. It was too dangerous to get wet paws in the mountains.

Gradually, even the forest changed, becoming more green and the undergrowth more thick. The brown dappled ground covered with decaying leaves from the oaks around her. The ground was soft and firm, making it easy for her to limp over.

She felt content, nothing but warm sun on her back, cool breeze in her whiskers, and lazy thoughts about the scenery. But her grumbling belly and aching paws stopped that for awhile. She padded on a bit more, looking for a nice place to rest for the day.

She found a sunlit rise with a maple tree in full bud perched upon it, the river running right past. Rainstone nodded to herself and quickly tracked down a mouse. It was easy in the prey-filled woods. She settled herself down under the maple tree and in full light of the warm sun.

It made her drowsy, her belly full, the sun warm, the ground soft, and the endless murmur of the stream filling her ears with its steady rhythm. Her tail flicked in its rhythm and she kept her eyes fixed lazily on the gleaming bubbles as the stream rushed past. _I never had this leisure time in the cave._

Her gray fur soaked up the heat and she let herself drift into sleep. _If this is what being alone is like, I can get used to it._

The thought had barely crossed her mind when she heard a screech and the wild flapping of wings. Instinctively, from living in the mountains where every cat was conscious of eagle attacks, she pulled herself up and swatted upward. Her paws hit something and her claws sliced her attacker.

She stood in shock as a big, round, bird flew away with a hooting cry. "Wow! I've never seen a cat react so quickly!" a voice spoke behind her.

She looked over her shoulder to see a scrawny, tawny furred tom sitting in the shadows, his yellow eyes wide and impressed. "Ah… thanks," she mewed, slightly embarrassed she'd let her senses down and allowed both a bird and a cat to creep up on her.

"What are you doing here? I've never seen you before," the tom continued, padding forward.

"I'm passing through," Rainstone mewed curtly.

"While expecting kits?" the tom snorted in disbelief.

"What? I'm fine all by myself!" Rainstone defended herself hotly.

"I've no doubt, after batting away that owl as if it was a moss-ball, but I don't think you chose to travel around, you were forced to do it, right?" the tom pressed, padding closer so that he stood just at the bottom of the little hill she stood on.

"So what if I was?" she growled.

"Oh, nothing, I was just wondering since the last cat I saw traveling alone sounded a lot like you," the tom mewed.

"Sounded?" Rainstone mewed in confusion.

"Yeah, the same accent," the tom mewed. Rainstone blinked in confusion, suddenly realizing that his mew was bright and clear, while her own sounded edged and lilted, like water. She also remembered that the cats she'd stayed with had been half-way between her mew and this tom's mew.

"What did the cat look like?" Rainstone asked, there was only one cave cat she knew who may have been traveling through here.

"It was a patchy brown tabby, said he used to live near the mountains, but left after he was attacked by some cats, it was last summer and I know for a fact that the tom went to live with Twolegs," the strange cat mewed.

"Oh," Rainstone mewed, she'd wanted to know if it'd been Scamp. But it obviously wasn't. "What are Twolegs?" she asked curiously.

The tom glanced at her in surprise, "Big, pink creatures who live in forests of rock and have a tiny bit of hair on their heads. Oh, and they walk on only two legs," the tom explained.

Rainstone crinkled her nose, "They sound weird," she mewed.

"You've never seen one?" the tom asked, looking even more stunned and slightly amused.

Rainstone shook her head.

"Well, if you're traveling, you'll run into them eventually, there are few places where you can't find twolegs," the tom laughed.

Rainstone sat down, curling her tail over her paws. "Excuse me, but I never got your name," she mewed.

"Oh, I don't really have a name anymore, no cat around here to call me by it. But I was once named Hopper, so you can call me that if you so wish," the tom mewed.

Rainstone dipped her head, "Okay, Hopper," she purred as he twitched his whiskers.

"And may I then inquire what your name may be?" Hopper asked.

"Its Rainstone," she answered.

"A pretty name for a pretty she-cat," Hopper purred, yellow eyes alight. Then he shuffled his paws and abruptly dropped his gaze. Rainstone stared at him, head cocked, he obviously seemed embarrassed, she wasn't sure why, his comment was flattering, even if Rainstone didn't care.

"Sorry, I-uh-know you're expecting kits so you must already have a-uh- mate," Hopper muttered.

"Oh," Rainstone mewed, flattening her ears in embarrassment and shifting her round belly to the side. "Its okay, honest mistake," Rainstone swept on.

Hopper nodded, then squinted his eyes and stared to the west. Rainstone realized with a shock that it was already dusk. "If you-uh-need a place to sleep, you can come back to my den, I'll be happy to house you for a night," Hopper mewed friendly.

Rainstone happily accepted and padded down to his side, just staying out of reach of their fur brushing. As Hopper led her through the forest, keeping one step ahead of her as he took her on a winding path, she remembered something he'd said.

"Do no other cats live around here?" she asked.

"Not one, no foxes or badgers either, just prey," Hopper mewed, swiping his tongue over his jaws.

"Why do you live here then?" Rainstone asked.

Hopper shrugged, "I liked being on my own, and when my mom kicked me out of her den, she never really liked me, I was happy to stay away from any cats," Hopper mewed, his voice was bright, but Rainstone detected the tinge of loneliness.

"And you never thought of looking for any friends?" Rainstone asked, wondering how many moons he'd been alone, he didn't look particularly young.

"I get travelers like you once in a while, and the last time I looked for friends, I ended up with a sliced ear," Hopper growled, flattening his ears. Rainstone's eyes were drawn to a jagged slice through his ear, a deep nick as a reminder.

"Did you ever think of joining the travelers?" Rainstone asked, huffing a bit as they jumped over a fallen tree.

Hopper shook his head firmly, "Never, I like it here and I'll stay here till I'm old. I won't say no to company, but I won't go looking for it," Hopper mewed, no doubt in his eyes.

Rainstone nodded her head, she would except his wishes. For a moment, as they padded on in silence, she wondered if he'd welcome her to stay there with him while she had her kits and they grew old enough to travel with her. But she didn't want to stay in the forest and she wasn't ready to settle down quite yet.

_ But I don't want to be caught out in the middle of nowhere either,_ she thought with a twinge of unease. Then pushed the thoughts away, _I'll know when to stop. _

They soon arrived in a small clearing. The clearing was already full of fresh, green grass, an old tree grew in the hollow, growing out of the side of the little hill. Its thick, numerous roots were exposed and it appeared brambles, gorse, and ferns had been pushed into the gaps to fill them.

"Nice den," she mewed, eying the handiwork with admiration. _If only I had something like that for myself…_ It'd be easy to escape if in danger, and would give good shelter and protection.

"Go on, it's a big den and I keep an extra nest to the side for any unexpected guests," Hopper mewed, twitching his whiskers.

Rainstone purred and nodded her head, though her belly grumbled and she flattened her ears in embarrassment. "Go on, there's prey inside," Hopper encouraged, nudging her.

Rainstone nodded, scenting bird and mouse inside the dark den. Ducking under the roots, she was surprised to see how light it was, and noticed a few patches in the side where light came in. Too small to allow enemies in and easy to cover up in bad weather.

She climbed and curled down in the nest that smelled a little musty and less of Hopper. "Sorry the nest is a little old, I haven't cleaned it since leaf-bare came along," Hopper mewed, nudging the mouse toward her.

Rainstone shrugged, it was a nest, and that was better then she thought she'd get that night. She ate the mouse, enjoying the soft meat, though she still preferred something less musty. The sunlight had faded and was replaced by starlight and moonlight.

"You know," Hopper murmured, seeing her eye the stars. "I was once told that the stars were all the great cats that went before, and that if we're good, we will join them," Hopper murmured, his yellow eyes thoughtful.

Rainstone jerked her head to stare at Hopper in shock. She knew that the stars were her ancestors, but how did a cat who lived on his own know? "Who told you that?" she asked, thankful that her dark gaze melted into the darkness and he couldn't see her urgency.

"It was back when I lived near a lake, four Clans of cats live there, and they were always talking about cats in the stars," Hopper mewed, twitching his ear. "I thought it was nonsense then, but thinking about it, there might be some truth to it all," Hopper murmured.

Rainstone's ears pricked, just earlier that day Flake had told her about four groups of cats! And now Hopper was confirming it, but she wasn't frightened, but more intrigued about these cats who knew about ancestors. _I wonder what they can tell me,_ she thought, curiosity prickling at her paws.

She listened as Hopper's breathing slowed and deepen, signaling he was asleep. She fixed her eyes on the brightest star through the gap between the roots, _I'll find these Clans, Song, and I'll learn what I can about you and all my other ancestors…Alone._

**...**

**This is fun, right? I like it anyways... just gonna mention something you've probably guessed, the Clans are coming into play. So, for the next two chapters, you can send in cats for me to use in the Clans, I'll fill in the gaps if I don't get enough cats, but its helpful for you guys to send in cats! You can do it by review or PM, I don't care which. **

**Please Review!**


	21. Chapter 20: Thorns For Thorns

**Hello readers!**

**REVIEWS**

**"Crowstar54"- Thanks! and I used your kitties!**

**"Booklady1017"- Yes, the original Clans, I don't like making up new Clans, and its in the future, when they live by the lake.**

**"Wanderstar"- Thanks! the names are quite original, I like'em!**

**"Leviathan48"- Thanks for the names! But a changed a few a bit, Willowwind will start out as an apprentice, and she's not green. Graywhisker, will be Icewhisker, and Silverwing will be Slashwing. If that's alright. **

**"Moonbeam141"- Thanks! I love her! The name was really good.**

**"FrostOfTheWarriorCats"- Thank you! love the cats, just perfect :)**

**"pianodevotion"- Thanks!**

**"Silverblaze72"- Thank you! oh, and I changed Silverfur to Ivyfur, had too many 'silver' cats.**

**"Frostdawn"- Thank you! I love them!**

**Dawnfeather- Thanks! Dawnpaw will start out as an apprentice, if that's alright.**

**frostfoot- Excellent, used'em both!**

**lewlo- Hmm... I prefer not too, cause I feel I wouldn't be able to get the cannon characters just right, I prefer using made up cats that I can make however I want.**

**Anova- Perfect! I always loved tortoiseshells. **

**"NyanNyan-suru"- Yeah... 'bout that... Anyways, thanks for Cloudypaw! I put her in RiverClan, if that's alright. **

**"Snowfeather4876"- No problem! I forget about 75% of the stories I start reading, so its not a one-person problem! And thanks for the cats! I didn't use Ravenflight and Frostshine as medicine-cats though, I'd already made up my own before seeing your review, sorry. **

**Secret Feathers- Thanks for the cats! love the more original names.**

**Tinsel- Got it! they're in the story!**

**"ShadowQuest2000"- I know, I know, I'm awful for killing a character off. Isn't it funny, how life makes us so busy? **

**Chapter 20: Thorns For Thorns**

At daybreak the next day, Rainstone set off again, Hopper escorted her back to the river, and said goodbye, his yellow eyes bright and cheerful. "Maybe we'll see another again, someday," Hopper purred, though she could tell he didn't mean it.

Rainstone shrugged, "Never say never, but I feel I won't be coming this way again," she mewed. Then she set off, picking a trot as her pace. The day passed in silence, she stopped to rest around sun-high, but got restless and continued on her way until gray shadows announced twilight had come.

Yawning, she lapped some of the cool water from the stream, the ground under-paw was mossy and the surrounding area was covered with soaked peat that bubbled with water when she stepped on it. She shook moisture from her paws, _great, now I'm going to have to sleep in a marsh!_

She carefully cut through it as the stream, moving sluggishly, twisted around the area. The water began to pick up pace, and she hoped that the ground would slope up, away from the boggy ground. She saw the dark shadow of a rise, quickening her pace until she was bounding through the long grass. She emerged from the top and stopped stiff.

The stream raced down besides her, but now she had come to its source, a scum-topped pond. It wasn't terribly big, and the greening trees cast their shadows on the unmoving surface. She'd guess it was no longer or wider the length of the cave back in the mountain. But now she'd be without a guide.

_ I followed the stream from its end to its beginning!_ The thought tingled through her paws with satisfaction, chasing away the fear that she may end up wandering aimlessly through the forest. _I can still follow the sun west, right?_ She could see the glowing aqua blue where the sun had disappeared, leaving for the moon to rise in the sky, white with dappled gray.

A few clouds whipped across the sky, so thin it seemed the next breeze would blow them away. She stretched, the grass was short and dry beneath her paws, the bog of peat had not followed her up. She tiredly scraped together a nest of dry grass and pieces of moss. She'd hunt in the morning.

** …**

The following day was gray and dreary, mist hung heavy in the air and a cough racked her body as she drew in a deep breath. _Sleeping out in the open isn't particularly healthy…_ But she found some coltsfoot, probably the first of the season, and ate the herbs along with a warm mouse to ease her scratchy throat.

She shook out her fur as she struck out again, heading in the direction where the sun had set the day before. But before long worry nagged at her. with the gray covering, she couldn't be sure she was heading in the right direction.

Hour after hour she padded, no sound but the whisper of her paws on the damp forest floor and the occasional cry of a bird in the trees overhead. She soon found herself in a forest of cedars and pines, the dark trees blocking her view from the sky completely and the carpeted floor beneath her paws muffled sound. She didn't like it, she felt trapped and anxious.

She nearly jumped out of her fur at the startling cry of a black crow as it swooped overhead. She shivered at the cold breeze and the icy drizzle. She felt tired, wet, and miserable. And on top of all that, she kept getting fresh whiffs of fox, badger, and even a bit of wolf. But no prey.

She glanced anxiously over her shoulder every few steps, wondering if something was stalking her in the silent world. She swallowed nervously as she imagined a wolf's sharp jaws and growled barks emerging from the mist like a shadow. She strained her eyes, but couldn't see more then a few tail-lengths around her.

She flicked her ears back as she thought she heard a thudding paw-step. The faint sound put her heart in her throat. She quickened her pace as the sound happened again, not the even tread of paw-steps, but the thump of a heavy creature that only became mortal for half a moment.

She broke into a gasping run as the sound became a quickening and rushing pounding. She let out a moan, her fear escaping from her closed jaws. She didn't like it here, she needed space to see things and the sky to breathe. Not with tall figures that loomed threateningly over her and shapes appearing suddenly from the mist in front of her. Or strange things that pursued her but had no scent.

She tripped over a branch, but pressed on, ignoring the pain and leaning more heavily on her limp. She could hear the pounding, she counted the rhythm that sped up with ever heartbeat.

She squinted her eyes, her breath was sharp in her throat, her muscles burned, her limp was jerking her off balance, and fear had nearly driven her wild. She tripped again, this time over a sharp rock and between the pain and fear, her limp paw failed to move fast enough to catch her and she fell to the ground, her muzzle driven into the pine needles while she flipped about wildly before laying still, closing her eyes and letting out a terrified moan.

She could heart the pounding, rushing and roaring, as steady as her own heartbeat… _That's it!_ she thought angrily, sitting up and crossly flicking pine needles from her paws. _I was hearing my own heartbeat pounding in my ears!_

Embarrassment and shame flooded her. Embarrassed that she'd been frightened by her own heartbeat, shamed that she'd been so easily terrified and that she'd run from a presumed danger.

_ And now I'm exhausted and injured and won't be getting out of the forest by tonight!_ She glared around, the light was darkening, so she guessed that the sun was going down. _I probably would have stopped soon anyways…_

She sighed, limping painfully over to a pine tree. Its roots were slightly exposed, rising on both sides and curling like the outline of a nest. She settled down in a tight ball, licking the bit of blood from her injured back leg.

She yawned, the mist covered her like a warm blanket now, and the silence seemed to be a soothing darkness now. How had she imagined it as such a scary place? It almost seemed like a gorse bush, protecting and hiding her as she fell fast asleep.

** …**

The next day was just as gray, but it was actually raining, not just misting. Rainstone turned in the direction she'd been heading in yesterday, hoping she wasn't going in circles. It took only the morning to emerge from the gloomy forest and get back into a more woody forest and the rain stopped as she passed into the bright woods.

Grass took the place of pine needles, and oak, maple, and beech trees took the place of pine and cedars. She quickly caught a starling, ravenous since she hadn't eaten since she'd entered the pines. Looking up through the haze of budding trees, she could see a few patches of blue, not that seeing the sun at sun-high was much help with navigating.

But she padded onward, the forest seeming more bright and friendly then the pine woods. She stopped a while later by a cherry tree that was in full blossom, tiny pink petals drifting through the air to land softly on the ground. _I think it'd be nice to rest here for the day, after yesterday,_ she thought, remembering the wild dash through the dark pines.

She drank long and slow from a pool that had been formed by the rain storm that she'd padded out of. The breeze was fresh and cool, flattening her dirty fur. She made a small nest under the shelter of the cherry tree, pausing to wash her fur clean of pine sap, pine needles, and mud.

She yawned, she could see the sun going down now. Amazingly, she'd kept up in the right general direction, drifting only a little too far south of where she wanted to be. _I'll fix it tomorrow,_ she thought with a sigh.

She wondered, as she watched the falling petals, if the forest went on forever. _It seems so, I've been padding through it for days now._ Then she realized how silly that was, she'd seen the edges of the forest as she entered back while traveling with Crystal.

She thought of her kits next, the pretty petals making her feel a little sappy. _They'll be the roses I get from the thorns, the joy from the sorrow of leaving the cave and everything I thought I once knew._ She still felt ashamed that she'd ruined the plans of helping the cats back in the cave, she'd made things worse, not better.

_ But maybe Night and Sun will become leaders and together make things better…_ She shook her head, she'd never know since she'd never go back. _Maybe one of my kits will go back one day and tell me all about it…_ She drifted into a light doze, just jerking awake, fear tingling through her pelt at a small, shrill wail.

_ Some cat is in trouble!_ she thought, racing toward the noise. The stench of fox reached her and fear pulsed all the more strong, along with a wave of fury. She slowed and peaked through some gorse into a small grassy opening characterized by a fallen log and a tumble of rocks.

She stretched and made out the figure of a fox, it was smaller then the ones that'd attacked her, only a little bigger then herself. _It must be a young one,_ but its black eyes shone with the same cruelty and its barks and growls were frustrated.

Rainstone maneuvered around to see a tiny, brown tabby furred tom kit cowering in a deep crack in the boulder, just out of reach, his high-pitched squeals arose every time the foxes claws brushed his fur.

"Help me! Some cat, help me!" it squealed. Rainstone flattened her ears, anger churning in her belly, she wouldn't let a fox murder a helpless kit. With a snarl of fury, she launched herself and barreled into the fox. She flung it to its side with her greater weight, thanks to her kits.

The fox scrambled to its paws and faced her, but it faltered when it looked at her. It yipped pitifully, as if unsure whether to attack such a vicious looking creature that was as big as itself. Rainstone darted forward and raked her claws down its muzzle and shoulder, feeling blood spurt from the wounds and giving the fox its last warning.

Luckily, the young fox had made up its mind and darted away with a wail. Rainstone sighed, wondering why it hadn't been so easy to get rid of the ones that had attacked her and Flake's family. She glanced over her shoulder at the little tom kit that had crept out of the whole, his blue eyes staring at her warily.

"A 'thank you,' would be sufficient," Rainstone muttered, licking the blood from her claws and sitting awkwardly, her belly, heavy with kits, bulging out.

"T-Thanks," the kit squeaked, his eyes wide.

"Well, what are you doing all by yourself? Where's your mother?" Rainstone asked.

"With my sister," the kit answered, his eyes becoming shadowed.

Rainstone leaned down, putting her muzzle close to his face, "And where is that?" she inquired, having a few choice words for a queen who allowed her kit to wander by himself.

"At our den," the tom mewed, eyes wide.

"Show me," she ordered.

The tom nodded and led her quickly through the forest. Rainstone was impressed by his speed and navigation. He stopped by a bramble bush, a small entrance showed that it was a den. Rainstone took a deep breath of the air.

"Are you sure this is the place? I don't smell any other cats," she mewed. There _was_ actually three other scents, but they were faint and stale, they hadn't been around here for a moon at least.

"I'm sure!" the tom mewed angrily, stomping away to a grassy clearing, two piles of rock paid on fresh growing grass. Understanding hit her heavily, _they must be dead,_ she thought as the kit stared at the piles of rocks with wistful eyes.

"Did they die?" Rainstone asked quietly coming to stand by the tom.

The kit hung his head, his paws trembling. "They got very sick, and when they left one day, father said he'd go and travel by himself, he said he needed me here in case mother or sister came back," the kit mumbled.

Rainstone felt a tremble of anger, _just because your daughter and mate dies, doesn't mean you get to abandon your son!_ She shook her head, "Did you have any other kin?" she asked.

The tom nodded his head, "My mother's sister came and visited just after my mother and sister went away and father left, she offered for me to go with her, but I said I'd stay here by myself," the tom mewed, his tone stubborn.

Rainstone flicked her tail. "Where does your mother's sister live?" she asked. _I can't take care of a kit just now, but I'm not leaving him here to die!_

"At the edge of the forest, that way," the tom flicked his tail in a southern direction. "About half a days journey from here," the tom mewed.

Rainstone groaned, she was already more south then she wanted, but she'd live. Besides, she wanted out of the forest. "Come with me," she mewed, grabbing the protesting tom and carrying him back to the cherry tree. He screeched and clawed the air, but Rainstone was in no mood to listen to his cries.

_ His mother and sister are not coming back, whatever he thinks. _She dropped him in her nest under the cherry tree. "Now listen here, you little maggot!" she hissed as he tried to run away, putting her paw on his tail. "Your mother and sister are dead and your father abounded you, I'm taking you to your aunt until you can live on your own!" Rainstone hissed.

The tom glared at her mutinously, but couldn't leave with her paw on his tail. "When you can hunt and protect yourself, you can return, but until then, you need to live with some cat to take care of you!" she hissed. The kit couldn't be more then three moons old, how he was still alive, she didn't know.

"I can hunt!" the tom protested.

"But you couldn't fight off that fox, it'd have killed you if I hadn't come along," Rainstone hissed. After a bit more arguing, the tom curled up in her nest with her, the night sky already up. Rainstone just sighed and fell asleep, the tom's body felt small and right on her flank.

** …**

"Are we there yet? Can we stop for awhile, my paws are aching! And I'm hungry! And thirsty!" the complaining mews made Rainstone growl. She glared at the little tom, she would have given him a name, but he said he didn't have one and liked it that way. _You better shut up or I'll start calling you jay!_ The mountainous birds were always squeaking like they were complaining about something.

They'd been traveling for half a day, the sun a little too hot on her fur and the breeze a little too dusty. "I can't walk another step forward!" the kit cried, falling on his side dramatically.

Rainstone growled and grabbed him by the scruff, "Hang on tightly," she muttered, flinging him up on her shoulders and carrying him through the forest. He clung to her soft fur with wide, sheathed paws.

She sighed in relief as they emerged out of the forest, a field of soft, green grass rolled away from where she stood, a small pool parted the green grass and Rainstone crouched to lap up a few mouthfuls. The kit had fallen asleep on her shoulders, and she continued along, looking for any signs of cats.

Cresting a hill, she sniffed the air quickly and spotted a small wooden object, four sharp walls and a slanted roof. It stood next to a more complex one that was light colored. She headed for the dark, wooden one cautiously, smelling both cat and dog. She'd scented dog once with Crystal, and she'd been told to be wary.

She entered through a half-open wall, the dusty smell made her sneeze and she dropped the tom kit to the ground. She looked around and let out a mew. She fluffed up her fur and spun around at a yapping sound. Turning, she saw a tan creature that looked like a wolf, but smaller and didn't smell of blood.

But its jaws were still slathered with saliva and had a hunting gleam in its eye. Rainstone kicked the tom kit into a pile of straw as she faced the dog. She heard a mew and looked up in time to see a lithe yellow she-cat jump down besides the tom kit, her eyes alight with recognition.

_ I bet that's the aunt,_ knowing that the kit was safe, she could run. She darted right under the dogs belly and pelted away, her limp and heavy belly making her slow enough for the dog to stay right on her paws as she raced across the soft, green fields. But her stamina was top-notch and she raced non-stop.

As she crested a hill, she saw that in the distance behind her was a forest of stone and glittering lights. _The twolegplace, just as Hopper described it._ But she couldn't stop to look. She was darting through scrubby shrubs, the dog getting less confident as it saw it was so far from home.

Rainstone nodded as it stopped and turned, heading back the way it'd come. Rainstone sniffed, she'd run just like she had in the pine forest, except she hadn't been so terrified. _It doesn't make any sense._

But she spotted a weeping willow tree, its branches hazed with new growth and the leaves hanging like a curtain around the tree. A river rushed besides it, one she hadn't noticed before, and was flowing north-west. She padded down the slope, limping slightly. She could see, following the river, there was a ridge.

She sniffed the air, it was fresh and clear, gray clouds starting to role over the sky. She settled herself under the willow, the grass soft and feathery. The green curtain, like ivy, made a green light in the setting sun.

Rainstone sat, but couldn't get comfortable, even as the sun set and exhaustion settled over her, she couldn't fall asleep. By the time spasms contracted her body, she knew what was happening. _No! I'm not ready!_ She willed her kits, she was exhausted and in a place she didn't know at all.

But the kits wouldn't wait, and she went through the night as if she was the only creature in the world. Her claws tore at the grass around where she lay and her screams of pain were muffled by the grass she'd torn up and pressed against her muzzle. She didn't want to attract any foxes or wolves in the area.

She panted as she watched the moonlight's silver light begin to fade, but it wasn't setting. Thunder rolled above her and lighting flashed, she screamed during the thunder, when the trembling sound muffled her.

Rain pelted down heavily and she briefly wondered if the river by her would flood into her hovel. But the willow kept her mostly sheltered from the rain, its heavy leaves keeping her dry, since there was no wind to shake it.

Of course, with no wind to blow the leaves, there was no wind to blow the storm away, and it sat and festered over her all through the night, just as strong as when she finally kitted, the most painful spasms leaving her half-unconscious for a few moments.

But the pain was gone now, and she lifted her head in the dark. In a flash of lighting, she made out two figures. Fear gripped her heart and tore it apart. One of the tiny creatures wasn't moving. She pawed it close to her, it was small, it had stubby ears and a half-formed tail. _It must have been killed when I was attacked by the fox,_ she thought numbly, grief seizing her.

She turned to her other kit, it was breathing, but its heartbeat was so faint she could hardly make it out and it seemed to be growing more infrequent. _No! I can't lose both kits, I just can't!_ She found herself begging Song and all her other ancestors for her kit's life as she licked it roughly and pressed it to her scarred belly to keep it warm.

But the creature gave a shuddering breath just as gray light was strengthening and it fell silent. Rainstone stared at the two unmoving kits in numb grief. Why weren't they moving? They were supposed to be nursing at her belly, weren't they? They were supposed to be breathing, making little mewls, right?

_ Is there something wrong with them?_ She asked herself, prodding them with a paw, waiting for them to do something. They were supposed to grow up, play, fight, and travel with her! But the cold scent of death mingled with fresh life, and pain seared through her. The pain of seeing lives not even begun, ended.

She could make out that they'd both been toms, the stillborn one had a black pelt, like Night. _Does he have his orange-amber eyes?_ The other tom was a light brown tabby, like her father. _But I know he would have been better then my father…_ Rainstone bowed her head, her ears flattened to her head in pain and anger, anger at death that had claimed the two things she'd loved and wanted more then anything when she'd lost all else.

The rain still pattered on the leaves of the willow, and Rainstone scooped up the two tiny bodies, digging under the willow two small holes. She placed her kits in the holes, eyes so bleary she couldn't see correctly. She remembered how the tom kit in the forest had piles of stones to mark out the grave of his mother and sister.

_ Life is fair rotten, isn't it?_ She thought the words, would have told them to some cat if she hadn't been alone. She stumbled out from under the willow. Lighting flashed above her head and thunder boomed loud enough to deafen a cat, as if angry that she dared defy the storm. _I couldn't care if you struck me down._

She padded to the river, it was muddy and swollen, but some of the rocky shore was left uncovered. The rain pattered down, it had soaked her in a heartbeat, but she hardly noticed as she rolled rocks together with numb paws.

She returned to the two small graves and carefully stacked a mound of rock on each one. She looked at the graves, sadness welling up in her. _They were supposed to be the roses I got from thorns! But it seems I just got more thorns._

Bitter and empty feeling, she left the willow again and stumbled to a thorn bush, she bit down on a stem and pulled it away, ignoring the thorns that cut her lip and tongue. She returned to the graves, biting the thorn tendril in half and placing a half on top of each mound of rocks, securing it by placing the top rock on it.

She swallowed hard, the thorns looked too harsh on the brown and gray rock. She looked around, spotting two flowers, a white daisy and a yellow daffodil. She placed them under the rock with the thorns. _White and yellow, I'll never like those colors again._

Turning away, she stepped back into the rain. She raised her head to the sky. The rain pelted down even harder. "Are you happy now?!" she screeched, pain and anger battling inside her empty belly.

All she got in answer was a thunderous roar… except their hadn't been any lighting and the roar grew louder and louder… Rainstone turned her head, not even caring anymore. A wall of muddy water was bearing down on her, ten tail-lengths high and a whisker away from her.

She closed her jaws, taking a deep breath as it swept her away, the surge of water chocked her, shocked her, enveloped her. She couldn't care less, it seemed fitting, after her kits had died that she should as well. Now she had no legacy or reminder of her life in the world. _I wish for roses and I get thorns._

**...**

**So, uh, here's the bad news, I'm going on vacation... so I won't be updating for, ahem, two weeks. *Sigh*I left both my stories on cliff-hangers. **

**I still need more cats! most positions are filled up, but I need some apprentices, a few warriors, and three queens (two with kits) Also, if ya wanna give elders, I won't say no. **

**I feel like there was another thing for me to say... Oh well, must not have been terribly important... PLEASE REVIEW**

**Ha! I just remembered, after fifteen minuets of thinking when I could have been updating... oh well. The next chapter will be from two different POV's. A half-and-half chapter. So just be ready!**


End file.
